The alleged burglar who slipped away before his Cranston house was stormed by a SWAT team Saturday night turned himself into police at 11:30 a.m. this morning as police "began to close in on possible hideout locations," said Cranston Police Chief Col. Marco Palombo Jr.
Police now have in custody a man they say is a "major player" in a gang of burglars who targeted homes in Scituate, Cranston, Warwick, East Greenwich and other parts of the state — the arrest being early fruit from a task force the departments established after noticing patterns among the B&Es.
The task force ID'd Louis Marchetti, 43, of 53 Normandy Drive, as a person of interest in the burglary crew and just after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Cranston detectives caught wind of a breaking and entering in the Knights Farm neighborhood in Scituate. That crime matched the method of operation in other breaks throughout the state believed to be part of the crew Marchetti belonged to.
Shortly after the break was reported, Cranston Det. Sgt. Michael Pezzullo parked at the intersection of Hope Road and Mystery Farms Road after "determining that this would be the likely route of travel for Marchetti to take the return home to Normandy Drive," Palombo said.
Moments later, Marchetti drove by and Pezzullo began to follow.
Marchetti then drove from Hope Road to Wilbur Avenue, then turned aburptly onto Exchange Street in an attempt to speed away. He drove erraticaly for a short while longer before jumping out of his car on Olive Avenue and began running away.
Pezzullo, who chased after Marchetti, saw that he was running with a pillow case in his left hand.
Marchetti managed to get to the bike path and Pezzullo eventually lost sight of him.
A K-9 unit from Warwick tracked Marchetti's scent to his Normandy Drive house, where police found his red sweatshirt and a black flashlight two yards over on Cool Spring Drive.
Police surrounded Marchetti's house, including members of the Cranston Police Special Reaction Team, and Marchetti's family members were cleared from the home and taken to a safe location, police said.
Police obtained a warrant and used a bullhorn in an effort to get Marchetti out of the house. Eventually, once inside, they soon realized he wasn't there.
They did get an additional warrant and searched the home, which led to the seizure of "a great deal of property" that will be used to help the investigation, Palombo said.
“This has been a regional effort with our local partners, whose assistance has been instrumental in moving the investigation to this point," Palombo said. "He is a lifelong criminal that gained no benefit from a lengthy incarceration. This investigation is continuing.”