Cranston Man Indicted for 2011 Burglaries

A man who was arrested in 2011 for breaking into two Cranston houses in was indicted this week by the Providence County Grand Jury on two counts each of burglary and receiving stolen goods.

Anthony Meo, 45, of 230 Flint St., Cranston, was indicted nearly four years after his arrest by Cranston and East Providence police after he led them on a high-seed chase that began on Route 37 in Cranston and ended on Route 44 in East Providence after he rear ended one car, struck a Cranston police cruiser and fled on foot. He was arrested the next day after police found him holed up in an Ortoleva Drive house.

Meo allegedly broke into houses in the Dean Estates and Pontiac neighborhoods and he was identified as a suspect after an investigation and some sharped-eyed police officers.

Now retired Lt. Alan Loiselle was coming back from the second of the two burglaries when he saw Meo drive past him in the opposite direction on Route 37 near Tasca Ford.

Loiselle turned around, radioed for backup and started to follow.

Meo sped up and a chase ensued.

After Meo abandoned his truck, police found it laded with stolen items from both breaks in Cranston.

Police developed information that led them to the Ortoleva Drive address and a task force consisting of Cranston Police, State Police, the State Police Fugitive Task Force and the United States Marshals set up surveillance and eventually saw a man matching Meo’s description through a window.

Meo has a lengthy criminal record that includes several violent crimes.

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said that Meo is due to be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on Nov. 4.