UPDATE: Suspect identified in two separate Newport county armed carjackings
NEWPORT, R.I. (WLNE) — The suspect in a pair of Monday Newport County armed carjackings has been identified by Middletown police.
Jaron Monroe, 37, of Warwick, was arrested by Massachusetts State Police Monday after he allegedly crashed a stolen Toyota Highlander on Route 195 West in Somerset, Mass.
This is according to Middletown Police Department Major Cliff McGregor.
Monroe faces multiple charges from Middletown PD, including assault with intent to commit specified felonies, robbery of the owner, lessor, or occupant of a motor vehicle, felony assault and duty to stop in accidents.
According to an earlier statement from Newport Police Department Captain Kevin A. Moreira, the first carjacking incident occurred at the Middletown Shaw’s supermarket on East Main Road Monday morning.
Additional details from Middletown PD revealed that Monroe allegedly stole an idling Jeep SUV at gunpoint in the Shaw’s parking lot at approximately 7:55 a.m.
None of the occupants were injured in the incident.
Monroe then allegedly fled toward Newport in the Jeep, according to Newport police.
The Jeep was involved in a crash, which disabled the vehicle near the Admiral Kalbfus Road rotary in Newport, according to Newport PD Captain Moreira.
Monroe then allegedly pointed a handgun at several drivers before fleeing on foot toward the Admirality apartment complex on Kalbfus Road according to Captain Moreira.
Monroe allegedly pointed the firearm at a driver and passenger exiting the complex, and the two exited the vehicle.
The suspect then stole the vehicle, a gray Toyota Highlander, according to Moreira.
A Be on the Lookout (BOLO) was issued to Rhode Island law enforcement and nearby Massachusetts communities for the Highlander before the alleged Somerset crash.
Middletown PD Major McGregor said that before the alleged Shaw’s carjacking, Monroe crashed into a vehicle on Valley Road and pointed a gun at another victim in the Shell gas station parking lot on East Main Road.
No one was harmed in the alleged Shell incident.
