Police: Central Falls Man Robs Cranston Store, Crashes Stolen Car

A 54-year-old Central Falls man who allegedly threw a rock to smash his way into a Cranston AT&T store to steal $4,898.91 worth of cell phones and tablets Sunday night was arrested by Cranston Police 20 minutes later when he crashed a stolen car on Route 10.

Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist said police were dispatched to Niantic Avenue near Route 10 for a report of a motor vehicle accident at around 8:34 p.m.

They found Philip H. Parrott, of 143 Central Street, Central Falls, and inside the Volkswagen he was driving were nine Samsung phones and tablets. The investigation soon determined that the devices were stolen from the AT&T store at 540 Reservoir Ave., which had just been broken into, police said.

Surveillance video reportedly shows that Parrott, at around 8:10 p.m., threw a large rock through the front window to get inside.

After burglarizing the store, he then fled north onto Route 10. A witness told police that the Volkswagen veered off the road, striking a guardrail. The car then veered off of the Niantic Avenue exit and struck a tree in the center of the off ramp before coming to a stop.

Parrott was arraigned this morning in Third Division District Court on charges of breaking and entering, driving without a license and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Parrott is serving a six year suspended sentence for a previous breaking and entering conviction in 2012. He was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston as a probation violator.