JOHNSTON, R.I. -- A motorcycle crash that seriously injured the cycle's operator led to the arrest the cycle's 19-year-old owner Sunday night after police determined that the plates on the cycle were stolen.
Leroy Waters, 42, of 48 Golden View Dr., told police that the cycle's owner, Joseph Marsella, of 20 Park St., allowed him to take the red Honda out for a spin. Around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, the helmeted cycle operator left the road and crashed into a tree on Central Ave.
Police say that when they arrived at the scene they found him conscious but complaining of chest and shoulder pains and difficulty breathing. They looked for the cycle but only found plastic body parts.
Later, however, they found Marsella standing with friends at Golden View Drive looking at the damaged cycle. Marsella admitted, they say, admitted to driving the cycle back after learning it was damaged in a crash, and that the vehicle's plate was one that he happened to "find."
He was charged with receiving stolen goods (the plate) and operating a motorcycle with no license. At Rhode Island Hospital Tuesday, Waters was listed in good condition.