Cranston Felon Sentenced for Owning Gun, Grow Operation

A 36-year-old Cranston man and convicted felon will spend then next ten years behind bars for operating a marijuana grow operation and possessing a .32 caliber handgun in his Church Hill Drive home.

Antonio Neri, 36, pleaded no contest to a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and possession of a firearm after being previously convicted of a crime of violence on Friday before Superior Court Magistrate John F. McBurney in Providence.

He was immediately sentenced to 20 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston with 10 to serve under the terms of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.

Court records show Neri was arrested in May of 2014 after police responded to what initially appeared to be a routine burglar alarm for the basement of his house at 115 Church Hill Drive.

Police arrived and found two broken windows and a door ajar.

As police secured the scene, they found the grow operation in the basement. A search warrant was soon obtained and police then found the .32 caliber handgun in a nightstand in an upstairs bedroom.

Police said Neri lived with a girlfriend and two children at the house.

His girlfriend, Natalia Foussekis, was charged with three counts of possession with a controlled substance in a separate case that is still pending, said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.

The state Department of Children, Youth and Families were contacted regarding the welfare of the children.

“This defendant, a felon with a violent criminal past, was operating an illegal marijuana grow in a residential neighborhood, creating a significant public safety and public health risk,” said Attorney General Kilmartin. “I commend the fine work of the police officers for putting this drug dealer out of business and behind bars for a significant period of time.”

Cranston Police Detective Ronald Fuoroli led the investigation. Special Assistant Attorney General Peter Roklan prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.

Photo: City of Cranston