Woonsocket Man Charged For 2 Cranston Robberies

CRANSTON, RI — A Woonsocket man is facing charges after police say he robbed two banks in as many days. Edward Diamante, 34, was caught thanks to cameras in the community, Cranston police said.

The first robbery happened Thursday morning at the Citizens Bank on Oaklawn Avenue, police said, followed by the second at a Santander Bank on Atwood Avenue the next day. No weapons were brandished during either robbery, police said, and no injuries were reported.

Using video doorbell footage from the area around the Santander Bank, police were able to see the man later identified as Diamante getting into a vehicle. The car seen in the video was registered to Diamante, and he matched the description of the suspect from the bank surveillance video.

Friday morning, Diamante's registration was entered into the license plate registration system, triggering an alert in Cranston around 1 p.m. A police officer working a road construction detail spotted the car before it turned onto Interstate 95 South from Jefferson Boulevard.

After the officer tried to pull the car over, Diamante sped away through Providence and Johnston, police said. Rhode Island State Police and Johnston police joined the pursuit, which ended on Reservoir Road in Johnston when Diamante lost control of the car after hitting a speed bump and skidded into a yard.

After the crash, Diamante got out of the car and tried to run away, before he was stopped by an officer. He was carrying a backpack and a duffel with evidence of the robberies, police said, including cash.

Diamante was charged with two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of reckless driving, second offense. At the time of his arrest, he was also wanted for a charge of domestic strangulation.