Man Who Jumped Off East Providence Bridge Was Selling Guns On Facebook: DOJ

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — A California man appeared in federal court Friday after prosecutors said he jumped off a bridge to avoid police, marketed guns to sell on Facebook and was caught with a suitcase filled with 14 guns.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha said Joseph Darosa, 28, of Modesto, California, was charged in federal court in Providence with possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He is in federal custody and being held without bail, a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

According to court documents, East Providence police on Wednesday discovered pictures of guns being marketed on Facebook and learned a group of men were trafficking guns in the city. East Providence police found their location and established surveillance on a home in the city.

Then around 7 p.m., Thursday, officers saw Darosa leave the home with a suitcase and put the suitcase in the trunk of a Lyft driver's car, according to police. Officers also saw four men get into a second vehicle. Prosecutors said Darosa was identified through fingerprints.

Investigators began following the cars. When getting onto Interstate 195 westbound, police tried to pull the cars over. In what Police Chief Christopher Francesconi described as a "diversionary tactic" the second vehicle slowed down before speeding away, he said.

Francesconi said the Lyft driver stopped and had no knowledge of what was going on.

As officers approached the car, Darosa got out and jumped off the Washington Bridge into the Providence River, prosecutors said. It took officers almost an hour to find Darosa along a marshy area of the East Providence coast, police said.

Darosa was taken into custody and brought to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. Police said he suffered minor injuries.

Police said they seized the suitcase and found 13 handguns and a rifle inside. Francesconi said most of the guns were loaded., four were stolen out of Texas and one had an obliterated serial number.

According to court records, Darosa was previously convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California for distributing meth. He was sentenced in May 2016 to 60 months in jail and is currently on probation.