A Florida man was arrested in Rhode Island late last week after an isolated shooting led police on a turbulent high-speed chase that resulted in a substantial cache of firearms and ammunition being littered across the streets like a scene out of a 1990s action movie.
Joshua Pavao, 43, whose last known residence is in Kissimmee, Florida, stands accused of myriad criminal charges including 106 counts of a large capacity feeding device, two counts of carrying a pistol without a license or permit, discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle, firing in a compact area, eluding an officer with a motor vehicle in a high-speed pursuit, duty to stop for an accident resulting in injury, duty to stop for an accident with an occupied vehicle, vandalism, and obstructing an officer in execution of duty, according to a press release issued by the East Providence Police Department.
Law enforcement says it all started with a single shot.
On the afternoon of Dec. 1, officers responded to an emergency call about shots fired at a residence on Estrell Drive in the Riverside neighborhood of Providence. There, it was determined that at least one gunshot struck a vehicle and shattered its rear window. Investigators later determined that was the sole bullet chambered and spent — but many more bullets would be recovered before the day was done.
At 2:27 p.m. that day, roughly 7 minutes after the 911 call, an officer spotted the almost aptly named vehicle that had been linked to the shooting — a black Nissan Armada “with an unknown Florida registration plate,” according to the police department. Police Det. Michael Sullivan caught sight of the full-size SUV making an “abrupt turn” down one street, lost sight of it “briefly” and then saw it again.
“Sullivan attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop, but the vehicle refused to stop continuing on the streets,” the press release says.
For the next few minutes, on and off, officers caught and lost sight of the suspect vehicle, according to the police department. Finally, a city Water Department employee on the side of the road flagged down several officers and, along with several other residents of the area, directed police in the direction of the black Armada.
By 2:32 p.m., the wanted automobile was back in officers’ sights and they “reengaged in the pursuit.” This time, the police department described the chase as entailing a “high rate of speed.”
“As [the SUV] traveled north, a long gun magazine was either discarded or fell from the vehicle,” the press release says.
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One vehicle was struck by the black Armada at one intersection. Then, the SUV sped up again, police claim, breezing through a red light at another intersection, where three other vehicles were hit — two of which sustained significant damage. That final crash also rendered the black Armada inoperable and the “suspect exited his vehicle and fled on foot” toward a restaurant with several officers at his heels.
Police say Pavao was arrested in the parking lot of Davenport’s Restaurant — an American-style bar and grill in East Providence.
The final crash also resulted in “numerous loaded long gun magazines” being “ejected from” the black Armada and “found scattered throughout the crash area,” police claim. And that’s not all.
“Hundreds of rounds of long gun ammunition were also strewn throughout the area,” the press release says. “Located inside the suspect vehicle were thousands of rounds of ammunition in three duffle bags” and a significant number of loose rounds “throughout the interior of the vehicle.”
Left: Joshua Pavao appears in a booking photo; Right: a large cache of guns and ammunition. (East Providence Police Department)
Police were careful to note that no actual firearms were found “inside the vehicle, on the suspect’s person, nor in the large crash scene.” But, authorities believe several weapons were tossed or lost along the way.
In response to a report from a civilian about a “suspicious backpack” found in “a leaf covered area,” police say they recovered three “loaded Glock handguns and a pellet style rifle” as well as a bulletproof vest.
“This was an extremely volatile situation involving a dangerous and unpredictable suspect who put so many of our residents and police officers in harm’s way,” East Providence Police Chief Christopher Francesconi said. “My officers and dispatchers handled this very serious situation with great professionalism and restraint.”
The investigation into the wild series of events is ongoing and “very active,” according to the police department. Officials from multiple jurisdictions are currently engaged in determining the defendant’s alleged “motive and intentions.”
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