Portsmouth Car Thief Nabbed In Fall River: Police

PORTSMOUTH, RI — Edward Francis, 40, of Portsmouth, was charged Friday in connection with two robberies earlier this month. Police said on May 2, a Massachusetts Boulevard resident reported seeing a man break into the shed around 4 p.m. and take a generator and a lawn mower. Then on May 4, a Kensington Avenue homeowner told police Francis broke into his home around 3:15 p.m., took keys to several vehicles and drove away in one of them. On May 6, the same victim called police early in the morning to report the stolen car was back but a second car had been stolen.

Police said they found the lawn mower and generator in a Fall River, Mass., pawn shop. The seller was identified as Francis, and detectives obtained an arrest warrant in connection with that crime. After the second car was stolen May 6, police also sent Fall River, Mass., police an alert. The Fall River police found Francis asleep in the stolen vehicle. He was charged as a fugitive based on the Portsmouth warrant, police said, and held in the Bristol County Jail in Dartmouth, Mass. On Thursday, the Rhode Island Sheriff's Office picked him up and brought him to Portsmouth. He was arraigned Friday in Newport District Court.

Police say he also is being charged in connection with a Central Falls robbery.

Courtesy Photo: Portsmouth Police