Providence man to serve 25 years in state prison for armed robbery and sexual assault

Published on Friday, May 03, 2024

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 25 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) for robbery, sexual assault, and gun-related crimes stemming from a 2019 incident involving two female victims in Providence.

On April 26, 2024, Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause sentenced Dewaun Smith (age 22) to 45 years with 25 years to serve at the ACI and a 20-year suspended sentence with 45 years of probation. Additionally, Judge Krause ordered a No Contact Order between the defendant and the victims, sex offender registration, and sex offender counseling. On March 9, 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony. 

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that during the early morning hours of January 20, 2019, the defendant, along with a two previously convicted and sentenced co-defendants, sexually assaulted and robbed two female victims at gunpoint in the area of Manton Avenue in Providence.

At approximately 4:00 a.m. that morning, the defendant and two co-defendants, Diamond Wilson-Wooten and Hector Cintron, were traveling in a vehicle in the Manton Ave area of Providence. Wilson-Wooten, the driver of the vehicle, cut off another vehicle occupied by the two female victims. The defendant jumped out of the vehicle, ordered the victims out of their vehicle at gunpoint, and stole an Apple Watch, jewelry, and cash from the victims before driving away.

Shortly thereafter, the defendant encountered the victims’ car again on a nearby street. Once again armed with a gun, he exited the vehicle, jumped into the backseat of the victims’ car, and forced them to follow the vehicle driven by Wilson-Wooten to a location off of Manton Ave.

The men then sexually assaulted the female victims at gunpoint.

On March 13, 2023, Wilson-Wooten pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery, three counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of using a firearm during crimes of violence, and two counts of conspiracy. Judge Krause sentenced him to 52 years with 32 years to serve at the ACI on June 8, 2023.

On September 9, 2022, Hector Cintron was convicted of three counts of first-degree sexual assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence and sentenced to 37 years, with 17 years to serve at the ACI. 

Special Assistant Attorneys General Jessica Villella and Jonathan Burke of the Office of the Attorney General and Detectives Robert Melaragno, Matthew Rampone, and Christopher Ziroli of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.

###