Alleged Fight On Train Tracks Leads To Six Arrests, Slows Train Schedule

Justin M. Gould, 22, of 289 Liberty Road in Exeter and John Daniel Lillibridge, 20, of 6101 Post Road Apt. 92 in North Kingstown were both arrested on July 19 on charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing on a railroad.

Four others were charged with trespassing and obstructing a police officer in execution of duty. These include Christine Amanda Morrison, 19, of 135 Hoover St; Edmund J. Richardson, 39, of 6101 Post Road Apt. #92; Justin Luis Laplume, 19, of 120 Sheffield Hill Road in Exeter; and Jonathan Patrick Toolin, 19, of 20 King Phillip Circle.

According to reports, police arrived in the area of 6101 Post Road and the Amtrak railroad after receiving two phone calls stating there were two males fist fighting on the train tracks and that there was a large gathering of people watching the fight.

After getting out of the vehicle, police ordered all subjects to sit down on the side of the road behind the vehicle. Richardson told police, “I didn’t fight, I was just watching the fight.” Toolin was allegedly attempting to walk away when police told him to sit on the ground. According to reports, he yelled “**** that, I wasn’t even fighting anybody,” and then proceeded to sit down. When police spoke with Laplume, Morrison stated they were not involved and did not know who was fighting.

Police then allegedly noticed Lillibridge walk out on to the road from behind another lot with no shirt on, and blood on his hands and face. He was immediately patted down and placed into a police car. Lillibridge told police he and Gould had been involved in a physical altercation on the train tracks and that Gould had left the scene prior to police arrival. Lillibridge allegedly went on to say all of the involved subjects were not a part of the fight but had walked down from Richardson’s trailer to watch the fight.

According to police, Lillibridge continued to say he and Gould had agreed to fight and that they had both hit each other in the face with their fist, wrestled around for a few minutes and fallen to the ground. He stated that both parties got up and went their own direction while they exchanged words.

Police once again asked the other four if they knew the person Lillibridge was fighting: all four denied knowing him. After Lillibridge said he did not want to press charges against Gould, Morrison then allegedly said that she would call Gould and have him return to the scene to not press charges also. When police asked Morrison why she had lied about knowing Gould, she said “I didn’t want to get him in any trouble.” According to reports Laplume started laughing and stated he wasn’t a rat, after which Richardson also laughed and said “I don’t remember anyone's name otherwise I would have told you.” Toolin also began laughing and stated that he would have told police who the man was if he knew that he wasn’t going to be arrested. At this point, police arrested Richardson, Morrison, Toolin and Laplume.

Police contacted Gould at his residence and asked that he come to headquarters in regard to the incident, to which he agreed.

It should be noted that during this time, Amtrak was contacted and the normal schedule for passing trains was slowed. When Gould was located and police were sure that all suspects were off the track, Amtrak was notified that they could resume their normal travel.