Providence man held without bail on 16 counts for allegedly firing assault rifle at police officer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – The Providence man who is accused of firing an assault rifle at a police officer Wednesday morning appeared in court Thursday.

Luis Roman, 31, was ordered held without bail for the incident on Canton Street, where he’s accused of firing shots at a police officer and then fleeing, leading police on a manhunt in the Elmhurst neighborhood.

Roman is facing 16 charges including assault with intent to murder.

He’s being represented by defense attorney Jeff Pine, former Rhode Island Attorney General. Pine has represented Roman in the past.

“He’s been doing well lately with a family and a job, and so to me, this is very much out of character for the person that I’ve known for the last four or five years,” Pine said to reporters outside of court.

Police say Roman fired multiple shots from a high-powered assault rifle in the direction of a Providence police officer who was responding to a domestic call. The officer was not injured. His cruiser took the bullets instead.

“Six inches higher, three inches to the left, it goes right through the driver’s windshield and he takes it probably right in the chest,” Providence Police Commander Thomas Verdi said. “That’s how fortunate and how lucky we are today that we didn’t have a police officer killed in the line of duty.”

Police surrounded the Canton Street home and made entry with a SWAT team, but Roman had fled. He was arrested a few hours later on Sears Avenue.

In court Thursday, Roman was ordered held without bail pending a hearing in Superior Court as he’s a bail violator on a previous weapons charge.

© WLNE-TV 2021