Off-Duty Police Officer Credited With Catching Robbery Suspect

CRANSTON, RI — An off-duty, uniformed Providence police officer is credited with stopping a woman who is believed to have robbed a convenience store in Cranston early Friday morning. The suspect, Megan Giannakas, 33, of Johnston, was charged with first-degree robbery, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

According to Cranston police, the incident happened around 1:20 a.m. at a 7-11 at 1394 Plainfield Pike. The officer, Ralph Abenante, had just finished his shift with the Providence Police Department when he walked into the 7-11. The clerk told him the store had just been robbed by a woman wearing a red sweatshirt and brandishing a knife.

The clerk had just handed the woman $196 in cash when Officer Abenante walked into the store and, seeing him, she ran away.

Abenante left the store and drove around the area looking for the woman. He spotted someone, later identified as Giannakas, who matched the clerk's description running onto Tremont Street. He caught up with her on the porch of a house on the street and, after disarming her, handcuffed her, police said. Abenante was cut slightly as she struggled against him.

When Cranston police arrived, Giannakas was in handcuffs alongside the recovered cash, a steak knife and a coffee cup from 7-11. Rhode Island State Police and officers from the Johnston Police Department were also called to the scene.

Giannakas was held overnight at Cranston Police Headquarters ahead of her arraignment at Third Division District Court. Along with the charges listed above, she will also be presented as a superior court probation violator from a 2017 larceny conviction.

"Police officers are never truly off-duty and are committed to protecting the public at all times," Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist said. "We are grateful for Officer Abenante’s willingness to spring into action and risk his safety to apprehend an armed suspect who had just committed a violent crime in our city."