WESTFIELD – A Franklin man has been held in lieu of $200 cash bail after he allegedly robbed a resident at knifepoint of a single cigarette and lighter.
When police caught up to the suspect, a man who city police have dealt with since 1998, he had an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
An emergency dispatcher sent police to the intersection of Franklin and Elm streets after a 1:57 a.m. Thursday caller from a convenience store reported that a man had entered the store and asked him to call police because he had been threatened by a man with a knife who was walking south on Elm Street.
Officer James Renaudette reports he was responding to the call when he spotted a person he recognized from past dealings who fit the description of the suspect.
Renaudette approached the man and noted that the suspect had an unlit cigarette in his mouth. The man did not respond when he was asked if he was in possession of any weapons and Renaudette emplaced handcuffs for his safety while he investigated the incident.
Officer Jason M. Perron also responded to the incident and found that the victim said that a man had demanded his cigarette and lighter while brandishing a knife.
The victim identified as his assailant the man Renaudette had detained, John P. Rosario, 27, who gave an address of 26 McCarthy St., Franklin.
Rosario was found to be in possession of a lighter which fit the description of the lighter the victim claimed had been stolen. The cigarette seen in Rosario’s mouth when he was stopped was lost while he was being detained. No knife was found.
Renaudette reports that when he attempted to secure Rosario in his cruiser with a seatbelt, the man attempted to strike him with his head and continued to thrash around to prevent the officer from attaching the seat belt.
Rosario was arrested for armed robbery and resisting arrest.
Although Renaudette charged Rosario with armed robbery and resisting arrest, when he appeared in Westfield District Court on Friday before Judge Robert Murphy he was arraigned on charges of larceny from a person and resisting arrest. He was released on $200 cash bail pending a Feb. 7 hearing.
