Off-duty RIPTA Bus Driver Accused of Disorderly Conduct in Providence
Criminal Charges:
Man charged in the Rhode Island District Court (6th Division), Providence, Providence County for:
- Multiple Counts of Disorderly Conduct, in violation of R.I.G.L. § 11-45-1
Case Overview:
Providence Police responded to two, consecutive calls from residents claiming that a young black male was peeping in backyard windows. Police searched the area for anyone who matched the description of the man. It was long after dark on Providence’s historic East Side, so the streets were quiet. Police eventually came upon the man, an off-duty RIPTA bus driver. When questioned, he told police he was out for a late-night walk. He further admitted to walking up driveways and looking into backyard windows of homes he believed were vacant. Police initially let the man go with a warning. However, after reviewing video surveillance footage from the complaining residents that day and comparing the footage with videos from a prior, unsolved attempted burglary in the same neighborhood, police arrested the man and charged him in Rhode Island District Court with two counts of disorderly conduct under the section of R.I.G.L. § 11-45-1 that outlaws peeping into windows or invading privacy with a sexual purpose or interest. The man retained Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter.
Case Result: Dismissed.
Attorney Calcagni pressed the issue to trial, claiming that no evidence existed to establish the man’s sexual interest or purpose for looking into residential windows, some of which were even of bathrooms. Attorney Calcagni used the prior burglary investigation to support an alternative motive for the limited purpose of defending the pending disorderly conduct charges – to commit further burglaries. As time passed, the prosecution relented and dismissed the case and its charges against Attorney Calcagni’s client.