On July 6, 2023, following the conclusion of an eight-day jury trial before Superior Court Justice Joseph A. Montalbano, the jury found Willard Whiting (age 50) guilty of one count of felony assault resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of felony assault on a person over the age of 60.
...
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that during the early morning hours on Sunday, August 1, 2021, the defendant participated in a drive-by shooting on Olney Street in Providence using a Polymer80 ghost gun, killing Miya Brophy-Baermann. The jury also convicted the defendant on charges of possessing a Polymer80 ghost gun on December 12, 2021.
...
On June 19, 2023, Robert Leeming (age 47) entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of felony assault domestic strangulation and one count of domestic breaking and entering.
...
The State of Rhode Island has received a 2023 second quarter Award for Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation Principles, along with North Carolina. The quarterly awards are designated by a coalition, led by faculty and staff at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, that developed a set of evidence-based Principles to help policymakers use opioid settlement funds effectively and equitably.
...