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Arraignment delayed in gas station death case

9:53 AM Tue, Oct 06, 2009 |
News staff    Email

WAKEFIELD, R.I. -- The arraignment for David J. Catalano, the man accused of killing a gas station attendant and shooting at a police officer, has been postponed, according to a clerk in the Washington County Superior Court.

Catalano, of North Kingstown, was scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court Tuesday morning after being indicted on 10 charges stemming from the May 17 crash that killed Clifford LeValley and a resulting altercation with a North Kingstown police officer in September. However, officials are still trying to determine whether he is competent to stand trial. Until that determination is made, no other proceedings in the case can take place. No new arraignment date had been set as of Tuesday morning.

catalano.jpg Catalano


During a hearing last month, Judge Bennett Gallo said that officials at Eleanor Slater Hospital had not been able to determine Catalano's competency. Previous competency reports have been completed, but public defenders representing Catalano requested new evaluations as recently as August, citing a change in Catalano's mental status. Catalano attempted to apologize to LeValley's family in May when he was ordered held on $100,000 bail with surety, even though the judge and his attorney advised him against doing so. Since then, a number of competency hearings have been rescheduled.

The police said LeValley was filling a customer's tire with air at Willie's Shell station on Post Road in East Greenwich when Catalano's SUV veered off the highway and hit him. The police said Catalano backed the car up and then drove to his mother's house at 10 Wasp Rd. in North Kingstown.

North Kingstown police Officer Travis Maiato went to the house to let Catalano know that the East Greenwich police wanted to speak with him. As Maiato spoke to Catalano on the porch, a call came over the radio that the accident was serious and East Greenwich police officers were on their way to the house.

The police say Catalano then tried to wrestle a gun away from Maiato and fired three shots at the officer, one grazing his shoulder and another hitting the back of his bulletproof vest. Catalano then allegedly tried to escape in Maiato's police cruiser, but was caught by other police officers.

LeValley was alert when rescue workers came to assist him after the accident. He died three hours later at Rhode Island Hospital.

Catalano faces charges of assault with the intent to commit murder, discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, felony assault, assault on an officer with injury, larceny of a stolen firearm, and larceny over $500 for the alleged incident with Maiato. He also faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in property damage and driving to endanger, death resulting for LeValley's death.

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 Tags  David J. Catalano East Greenwich RI North Kingstown RI Wakefield RI


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