BURRILLVILLE – A 53-year-old West Warwick man is facing charges after reportedly eluding officers first in his car, and then on foot in a chase through the woods by Bella Restaurant.
Raymond Silva was charged with reckless driving, driving without a license, obstructing an officer and resisting arrest following the incident on Friday,
Feb. 12.
According to Silva’s arrest report, the incident began in Burrillville when police spotted a Hyundai Sonata speeding along Douglas Pike, and attempted to stop the vehicle. The car reportedly made several quick turns before heading into the parking lot of Bella on Broncos Highway.
Officers found the car unoccupied behind the restaurant, and noted that the plates were registered to a different vehicle belonging to a woman in West Warwick.
North Smithfield Police said that a similar vehicle had been involved in an accident in the neighboring town, but had fled the scene.
K-9 handler Officer Bret Simas noted that he then heard the sound of branches snapping and located fresh footprints in the snow, which he followed across the highway. Simas instructed K-9 Rex to search the area and the pair trudged through about a foot of snow into thick vegetation.
The dog was led on the search twice, and both times gave a proximity alert by the banks of the nearby river, but officers could not find the suspect.
Simas finally located Silva crouched behind a tree by the highway.
Silva initially would not remove his hands from his sweatshirt pocket according to reports, and was held at gunpoint. Once he was finally cuffed and asked why he ran, Silva reportedly replied, “I didn’t want to get arrested.”
In addition to the criminal charges, police also issued Silva citations for speeding, cancelled registration, driving without insurance, not using a turn signal and improper registration.
He was released to the ACI.
