Man who led police on chase that ended with road covered in ammunition sentenced

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Florida man who “frequently” lived in Coventry and admitted to illegally possessing a semi-automatic weapon modified to function as a fully automatic machine gun has been sentenced, according to Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

45-year-old Joshua Pavao was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of federal supervised release.

In December 2023, Pavao led East Providence police on a high speed pursuit which ended with multiple motor vehicle crashes on Estrell Drive.

He fled on foot and was quickly arrested.

During a search, police found a total of three loaded firearms and a multitude of ammunition and loaded pistol magazines from inside the vehicle, spilled out onto the roadway, and in a bag Pavao stashed near a residence, according to court documents. 

Bloom said a search of the bag found eight long guns, in which four were outfitted with an auto sear machine gun conversion device rendering them machine guns.

Pavao pled guilty in February 2025 to possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm.