Cranston Police Department Make Arrests in the 2015 Theft of City Snowplows
Colonel Michael J. Winquist, Chief of the Cranston Police Department, announces that the Department’s Detective Division, with the assistance of the Rhode Island State Violent Fugitive Task Force, arrested two suspects for the theft of two City owned trucks and snow plows, which had been stolen from the Cranston Stadium in late 2015.
On December 27, 2015, the Cranston Police Department was notified by the Providence Police Department that two Cranston City trucks had been located abandoned in their City. Investigators confirmed the trucks were in fact stolen. Prior to the theft, both trucks had been equipped with snow plows and were being stored in a fenced in area at Cranston Stadium on Flint Avenue. The thieves drove through a locked gate prior to leaving the area.
In the months that followed, Cranston Police Detectives conducted an extensive investigation, following up on multiple leads, which led to today’s arrest of Jason R. Lehman, age 42, of 795 Sandy Lane, Warwick, Rhode Island and John H. Lyons, age 48, of 33 Candace Street, Providence, RI. Both suspects will be arraigned this afternoon by a Justice of the Peace at Cranston Police Headquarters on the following criminal charges:
• Larceny over $500 (two counts)
• Destruction of public property
• Conspiracy to commit the crime of larceny
The investigation remains ongoing as detectives are continuing to follow leads concerning additional suspects and the location of the stolen plows.
If anyone has further information regarding this case, including the current location of the snow plows, please contact Detective David Boucher or Detective Robert Lindsay at the Cranston Police Department at telephone number (401) 942-2211. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the Cranston Police Department website (www.cranstonpoliceri.com)