WOONSOCKET – The long arm of the law finally caught up with a serial shoplifter from Burrillville after he was caught on camera pilfering merchandise from a local convenience store nearly a month ago, police say.
Michael A. Gasbarro, 35, of 65 West Ironstone Road, is now held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions on Woonsocket police charges of being a habitual shoplifter and shoplifting, according to Department of Corrections records.
A store security camera at Mira Mart on Hamlet Avenue captured images of Gasbarro, “grabbing items from behind and around the counter,” while an employee was busy assisting a patron, according to Det. Sean Carpenter’s report. The worth of the merchandise was priced at more than $115.
Gasbarro had been at large since the theft – until a few days ago, when the Cumberland Police Department arrested him after he allegedly committed another shoplifting crime. That offense occurred on Friday, May 30, prompting the CPD to charge him with additional counts of shoplifting and habitual offender shoplifting, according to the judiciary’s web site.
Shoplifting is often classified as a misdemeanor but if a person has multiple prior convictions for the crime law enforcement agencies can charge an offender with habitual offender shoplifting, making it a felony carrying harsher penalties.
But the shoplifting charges are hardly Gasbarro’s only problem with the law. According to the judiciary’s web site, four police departments, including the Rhode Island State Police, have open charges pending against him, and state prosecutors have filed additional charges against Gasbarro for being a bail violator in two of them.
One of those cases, originating from the Burrillville Police Department, charges Gasbarro with accessing a computer to commit fraud; fraudulent use of a credit card; conspiracy; and obtaining money under false pretenses. The charges were originally filed in December 2022, according to the judiciary’s web site.
Also pending against Gasbarro are 2022 RISP charges of possession of a controlled substance.
Gasbarro’s next date in Sixth District Court is for the violation hearings, set for June 13, the judiciary’s web site says.
This person stole from my son while he lay dying. Before calling EMS he stole his debit card and went on a shopping spree. He should be locked up and they should throw way the key.
I hope they lock him up too. That’s one of the worst things I’ve heard.