2 NY Men Rob Coventry T-Mobile Store: Police

COVENTRY, RI — Two men from New York were arrested Monday after robbing a cellphone store in Coventry, according to police.

Coventry police said they were called to the T-Mobile store at 678 Centre of New England Blvd., around 1:45 p.m. for a report of a robbery.

As officers arrived, dispatchers relayed that two men stole merchandise and sped away in a vehicle. More information surfaced quickly. Police said as soon as officers arrived on scene, they learned the suspects ditched their vehicle and were seen in the area on foot.

Several Coventry police officers, along with Coventry police’s K-9 unit, West Greenwich police and Rhode Island State Police, set up a search perimeter around the business complex. K-9 Nixo was then deployed at the suspects' last known location.

Moments later, a Coventry police officer on a perimeter section of the complex saw the suspects walking through the Brookdale Nursing Home parking lot. Coventry police identified the suspects as Isamael Diaby, 19, of New York, New York, and Cheik Bamba, 18, of Queens, New York.

When officers pursued Diaby and Bamba, they tried to run away, but eventually caught up to them, placed them under arrest and recovered the stolen merchandise, police said.

Diaby and Bamba were both charged with second degree robbery and receiving stolen goods. They were arraigned in Kent County District Court. Surety bail was set at $30,000.