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Central Falls man sentenced to serve 8 years in state prison for armed robbery with illegal handgun
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Central Falls man was sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 8 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to committing an armed robbery with an illegal firearm in 2020.
Shaijohn Delgado (age 22) pleaded nolo contendere to one count each of first-degree robbery, using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited.
At a hearing on April 30, before Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause, the court sentenced Delgado to 18 years at the ACI with 8 years to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation.
“This case is another example of how the easy accessibility of illegal firearms places everyday Rhode Islanders in significant danger,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The defendant’s willingness to threaten someone at the point of a gun for an amount of money he had to know was minimal is sobering. He will now have to pay a significant price for that criminal misconduct, and deservedly so, despite his young age. There is a lesson here – if anyone is listening. I am grateful to the Central Falls Police Department for their partnership in investigating this case and bringing the defendant to justice.”
Had the case proceeded to trial, the state was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that during the early morning hours of January 26, 2020, Delgado held up man at gunpoint and robbed him of his wallet near Illinois Street in Central Falls.
That morning, as the victim was walking home to his apartment, Delgado approached him, drew out a revolver, and demanded that he hand over his wallet as Delgado held him at gunpoint.
Immediately after the incident, the victim alerted the Central Falls Police Department, and officers were able to identify Delgado as he was walking away from the scene.
Officers pursued Delgado and apprehended him several streets away from the scene of the crime. During their investigation, the Central Falls Police Department recovered a .357 Magnum revolver from a trash can that Delgado had ditched during his flight. Investigators also recovered the victim’s wallet, which contained $70 in cash, from Delgado during his arrest.
Delgado is not licensed to carry a firearm and was in fact prohibited from possessing a firearm, having been convicted of possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine in 2019.
“The actions of Sergeant Paul Savoie, Detective Jeff Araujo, Officer Kerry Craig, and Officer Yomaira Rodriguez are another example of the professionalism of the Central Falls Police Department,” said Colonel Anthony Roberson, Central Falls Chief of Police. “Without regard for their personal safety, officers responded to the scene and apprehended Delgado while seizing a .357 Magnum revolver nearby. Their swift actions took a threat to the community off the streets.”
Special Assistant Attorney Alison Bittl of the Office of the Attorney General and Sergeant Paul Savoie, Detective Jeff Araujo, Officer Kerry Craig, and Officer Yomaira Rodriguez of the Central Falls Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.
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