Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that a Providence County Superior Court jury yesterday found Reginald Eisom (age 24), of East Providence, guilty for his role in the October 23, 2015 robbery of the Capital Gold pawn shop on Smith Street in Providence. Eisom was convicted of one count of first degree robbery, one count of conspiracy, one count of discharge of a firearm resulting in injury, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of carrying a pistol without a license, and two counts of possession of a firearm having been convicted of a crime of violence.
The jury returned its verdict after five hours of deliberations following a seven-day trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause.
During the trial, the State proved that a little before 10:00 a.m. on October 23, 2015, Eisom, and co-defendants Andrew McLean and Leroy Dorsey approached the Capital Gold pawn shop on Smith Street in Providence with the intent to rob the shop.
Video surveillance from inside and outside the shop was presented as evidence at trial. Eisom and Dorsey were buzzed into the store first, with McLean following. After the three defendants entered the shop, McLean armed with a .9 mm pistol, the front door automatically locked, trapping the defendants inside. The owner of the shop took his gun, a .40 caliber, from under the counter and confronted the defendants. In the confusion, McLean dropped his firearm. During a struggle, the owner was able to get off two rounds, striking McLean and Dorsey. After McLean dropped his gun, Eisom attacked the shop owner with a knife and then jumped on his back during the struggle. As the struggle ensued, McLean grabbed the firearm he dropped earlier and shot the owner in the head.
Dorsey fled the shop, which Eisom and McLean stayed behind, looking to steal valuables and the shop's video surveillance system. Although they pulled a monitor off the wall, they were not successful in destroying the surveillance system. During the trial, video surveillance was presented to the jury showing Eisom flipping the shop owner's lifeless body over to rummage through his pockets before the two fled the shop.
A United State Postal Service employee passed Dorsey as he fled and witnessed him tossing the firearm. As the Postal Service employee walked by the shop, he saw the owner bleeding on the floor, and hailed down a nearby motor vehicle to call E-911.
Police located Dorsey shortly after the incident hiding in the basement of a residence he broke into. Police apprehended McLean a few hours later. Eisom was arrested more than a year later in Pennsylvania.
Dorsey pleaded guilty in July 2017 to the charges of first degree robbery, conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in injury, and possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 50 years with 30 years to serve in prison plus 20 years, suspended and non-paroleable. The case against McLean is pending.
Providence Police Detectives Jay Simoneau and Jonathan Primiano led the investigation. Special Assistant Attorneys General Joseph McBurney and Jeffrey Morin prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.