Teen Sentenced for Role in String of Armed Robberies of Pedestrians

CRANSTON, RI—A 17-year-old Providence juvenile will serve 12 years of a 20-year sentence after pleading no contest to multiple charges in connection with a string of armed robberies in Cranston and Providence last summer.

Jonathan Morales pleaded no contest today before Family Court Judge Howard I. Lipsey to first degree robbery and conspiracy and will begin his sentence at the Rhode Island Training School until a modification hearing before his 19th birthday before his likely transfer to the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said in a news release that the charges stemmed from a series of robberies in August of 2016 when Morales and Sixto Javier, 20, of Providence; Daniel Mangru, 21, also of Providnece and another juvenile conspired to commit five first-degree robberies.

The group targeted “unsuspecting pedestrians,” Kilmartin said.

“For each robbery, Morales acted as the driver, while the adult co-defendants would jump out of the car and rob each victim at gunpoint with a .380 caliber pistol,” Kilmartin said. “As a result of these confrontations, two victims were pistol whipped and sustained injuries.”

Mangro previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts. Javier’s case is still pending.