Johnston Man Sentenced for Violating Probation in Smithfield Case

A Johnston man was sentenced to three months in prison for violating probation in a Smithfield case after Johnston Police charged him with assaulting six officers there.

Anthony Furia, 20, formerly of North Providence, faces six felony counts of assaulting a police officer, one felony count of threatening public officials, and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

Furia was already serving a six-month suspended sentence and six months' probation on a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault brought by Smithfield Police. He pleaded no contest on Apr. 26, and at a violation hearing on Sept. 24, District Court Judge Pamela Woodcock-Pfeiffer scheduled another hearing for Oct. 1.

He is also facing charges of reckless driving and driving with a suspended license from a Sept. 13 incident, and remains held at the Adult Correctional Institutions, Cranston.

Earlier this year, Furia was arrested twice within two weeks following two high-speed chases in Johnston.

In one case, police reported that Furia tried to use his car to ram a police cruiser after officers went to an Indian Vally Drive home where Furia had sat outside beeping the horn of his car at 5 am.

[Read more — Driver Surrenders After Chase, Apr. 4, 2012; JPD: Suspect Tried to Drive into Cruiser, Apr. 18, 2012]

Prior to his latest arrest, police reported that they suspected Furia in a Sept. 13 chase where the driver escaped from officers.

On Sept. 14 at about 10 pm, Johnston Police went to Furia's home and entered the residence after hearing a disturbance from inside.

According to police reports, Furia engaged in a violent struggle with officers, trying to pull the gun out of one officer's holster and shove another officer down a flight of stairs.

Six officers reported injuries after the incident.

On Sept. 15, a Justice of the Peace set surety bail at $15,000 in the most recent reckless driving case and $15,000 in the police officer assault case, and ordered Furia held at the ACI on the bail violation.

The following Monday, Furia appeared at probation and suspended sentence violation hearings stemming from the March 31 reckless driving case. Judge Frank Cenerini ordered Furia to serve five months in prison for violating the terms of the one-year suspended sentence, and Judge Anthony Capraro sentenced Furia to a three-month prison term for violating terms of probation.