COURTS

Man sentenced to 17 years for home invasions in Providence, Cranston

Brian Amaral
bamaral@providencejournal.com

PROVIDENCE -- A Providence man was sentenced to serve 17 years in prison for two home invasions last year.

Juan Velasquez, 22, pleaded guilty in Providence Superior Court Wednesday to two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of burglary, the office of Attorney General Peter Neronha said Friday.

The full sentence was 35 years, with 17 to serve at the Adult Correctional Institutions and the rest suspended with probation.

In one of the cases, prosecutors said they would have proved Velasquez forced his way into an apartment on Hanover Street in Providence on June 25, rounded up the family at gunpoint and tied them up with cords, and threatened them with guns and a knife.

One person was pistol-whipped, authorities said.

In a July 27 home invasion in Cranston, authorities said Velasquez forced his way into a Chestnut Hill Avenue apartment. In that case, victims were held at gunpoint and tied up with cords.

In both cases, Velasquez robbed them of cash and jewelry. Victims at both homes identified Velasquez. He was also caught on a doorbell surveillance camera at the Cranston home, Neronha's office said.

The home invasion in Providence was one of several reported during an uptick in the city last summer. Police have quietly made several arrests in the cases; the attorney general’s office did not describe the fate of other defendants.

Police originally said multiple people had burst into the Hanover Street home.

Armed home invaders often target homes believed to be involved in the drug trade, but they’re often wrong, barging in on sleeping families with young children, police say.