WPD: Man Bites Homeowner Trimming Trees

WARWICK, RI — On March 31 at 12:52 p.m., WPD Officer Nia Pina was called to 110 Main Ave. for a  man bites homeowner report, arresting a Coventry man.

Pina, along with officer Michael P. Rocchio, arrived at the address, meeting up with several men gathered at the wood line behind the property, according to the report. The adjacent property, according to Google Maps, is Friendship Baptist Church on West Shore Road.

The caller reporting the assault, the homeowner, 70, told the officers he had been trimming the trees on his property when a man, later identified as Robin Rodriguez Caraballo, 59, of 244 Shady Valley Road, Coventry, RI,  had come out of the church and asserted the trees were on church property.

A physical altercation ensued, the homeowner said, during which Rodriguez Caraballo grabbed him by the waist and bit his right arm, according to Pina’s report.

The church pastor, Kaleb Hall, said Rodriguez Caraballo approached him at about 12:30 p.m. to tell him people were on church property, had attacked him, and that he bit a man in self-defense. Rodriguez Caraballo then left the church. Hall said he had asked Rodriguez Caraballo to return and tell his side of the story, according to the report.

A Warwick Rescue was called to transport the homeowner to Kent Hospital to treat his injury and because he felt faint. He said he wanted to press charges against Rodriguez Caraballo.

Rodriguez Caraballo returned, telling the officers that when he confronted the 70-year-old, he felt the man was going to attack him with the chainsaw he’d been using. Pina noted that several people witnessed the attack and verified the assault.

Pina arrested Rodriguez Caraballo and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he was charged with one count of simple assault/battery and one count of disorderly conduct.

He was arraigned on the charges in Third District Court April 11 and scheduled for a pretrial conference on April 29. He was released on $2,500 personal recognizance and issued a Non-Domestic No Contact Order for the homeowner and a No Trespassing order for the home.