Pawtucket Fugitive Wanted In Boston Arrested In Westerly

WESTERLY — Westerly Police on Sunday night stopped a rental car with New York plates for a traffic violation and arrested a fugitive wanted on a nationwide extraditable warrant.

Richard B. Gobern III, of Pawtucket, was wanted in Boston on charges of being an accessory to a homicide, according to Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey. Gobern, 32, was set to be extradited to Massachusetts, Lacey said.

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In the meantime, he was hit with a Rhode Island charge of driving with a suspended, revoked or canceled license, third offense. A passenger in the vehicle, 30-year-old Jasmine Fortes of Hopkinton, was the subject of a district court bench warrant and she was also arrested. The car was towed.

Gobern, who has held various addresses, is a registered level 2 sex offender in Rhode Island. In 2013 he was convicted of 3rd degree sexual assault. He has a lengthy criminal record across the state, with arrests and convictions on firearms, felony assault, reckless driving and domestic violence charges. Over the years, he has been the subject of 20 different warrants, judicial records show.

In 2019, while living in Woonsocket, Gobern was arrested by Cranston Police after fleeing from a fiery crash.