Man At Warwick Gas Station With Slit Lip Charged With Domestic Strangulation

CRANSTON, RI — Cranston Police report the man who entered the Speedway gas station on Post Road in Warwick bleeding from a sliced lip at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday was wounded while attacking his girlfriend, and that they have charged him with domestic strangulation and domestic vandalism.

Police had initially arrested the girlfriend, intending to charge her with felony domestic assault, but dropped the charges and released her after their investigation revealed she had injured her boyfriend, Robert Burley, 34, of 2015 Broad St (Apt 106), in self-defense as he attacked her.

Burley was transported to RI Hospital by the Warwick Fire Department for treatment. He remains in the intensive care unit and is expected to recover from his injuries.

While being assaulted, the victim used an edged weapon against Burley prior to fleeing from the apartment, Cranston Police report. The victim was transported to Rhode Island Hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries and will not face any criminal charges.

Burley will be arraigned at Rhode Island Hospital on the charges of Domestic Strangulation and Domestic Vandalism. He will also be arraigned as a fugitive from justice from the State of Pennsylvania for a parole violation warrant stemming from a Driving Under the Influence charge.