CA Man Who Jumped Off Washington Bridge To Escape Police Sentenced On Gun Charges

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — A California man who leaped from the Washington Bridge to escape East Providence police was sentenced in federal court last week after admitting to having 14 guns illegally.

James Darosa, 30, of Modesto, California, was sentenced Wednesday to six-and-a-half years in prison. On Feb. 17, 2022, he was caught with a suitcase containing 14 guns, four of which were stolen out of Texas, and one with an obliterated serial number. Last January, he Darosa pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Darosa's arrest came after a special investigations unit from East Providence police conducted surveillance on an East Providence home. Police Chief Christopher Francesconi said the surveillance pertained to a gun trafficking investigation.

Francesconi said officers saw Darosa leave the home with a suitcase and put the suitcase in the trunk of a Lyft driver's car. Officers also saw four men get into a second vehicle.

Investigators began following the cars. When getting onto Interstate 195 westbound, police tried to pull the cars over. In what Francesconi described as a "diversionary tactic" the second vehicle slowed down before speeding away, he said.

Francesconi said the Lyft driver stopped and had no knowledge of what was going on. This when Darosa got out of the car, ignored officers' commands and jumped off the bridge into the Providence River, prosecutors said.

After a 50-minute search, a Providence police boat found Darosa in a marshy area along the East Providence shoreline.

Court records showed Darosa was on federal supervised release at the time of his arrest after serving five years in prison for distributing methamphetamine.

Following Darosa's new prison sentence, he must serve three years of federal probation.

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.