WARWICK, RI — Second thoughts about theft only countg before police catch you, as one West Warwick man learned while trying to put a Pepsi vending machine in his pickup March 19 at 1:14 a.m.
Officer David Waddington was on his way to another call headed south on Warwick Avenue when he spotted a white Ford F-150 pickup next to the money collection machine at Alpine Auto Wash, according to the officer’s report. A man was standing near the bed of the truck, leaning a Pepsi vending machine against the tailgate, Waddington reported.
As Waddington pulled in, he watched the man pull the vending machine off his tailgate and place it back upright. When the officer asked if the man owned the machine, the man replied, “no,” and admitted that he had been planning to take it for scrap, according to the report.
Waddington identified the man as Robert R. Negrotti, 50, of 11 Bettez St., Apt. 1, West Warwick. Negrotti told him, “As soon as I saw you I had second thoughts about it.”
But the change of heart didn’t come soon enough for Negrotti to avoid getting arrested on suspicion of attempted larceny of the vending machine, valued at about $1,0000, according to the report.
Waddington arrested Negrotti and placed him in his cruiser, according to the report. Negrotti’s truck was towed from the scene by City Towing, and Negrotti was released with a District Court summons for attempted larceny, greater than $1,500.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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