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Suspect in rape held without bail

10:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 17, 2008

By G. Wayne Miller

Journal Staff Writer

Marco Riz is arraigned on two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a woman. He also faces charges in Warwick.


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The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

PROVIDENCE — Marco Riz, 26, was held without bail on two counts of first-degree sexual assault during a four-minute arraignment yesterday morning in District Court. Riz, accused of twice raping a 30-year-old woman on June 8 in Roger Williams Park, will be arraigned this morning in the Kent County courthouse on additional charges related to the alleged crime.

Magistrate Joseph T. Ippolito made yesterday’s ruling as Riz, handcuffed and shackled, listened to the charges through an interpreter. Six sheriffs stood in the small courtroom, along with members of the victim’s family. The relatives said nothing during the arraignment. Riz, who showed no emotion, was also silent.

Riz is accused of kidnapping the woman from the parking lot of a Stop & Shop on Route 2 in Warwick, then driving her — in the Ford SUV in which she was sitting — to the park. Initial reports indicated that Riz, who the police said has used several aliases, may be an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, but a spokesman for Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said his status in the United States is under review.

“We’re still trying to determine his exact status,” Michael Healey said.

Healey also said that Riz, who is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions, will appear in District Court, Warwick, this morning to face charges of kidnapping, carjacking, assault with a dangerous weapon and first-degree robbery. Those crimes allegedly took place in Warwick, where the Stop & Shop store is located.

“Ultimately, our office will seek to merge these charges with the Providence County charges and present the one, unified case to a grand jury,” Healey said.

Police said that Riz encountered the 30-year-old woman as she waited in the Ford vehicle for her mother, who had gone into a nearby store. Armed with a steak knife, the police said, he got into the vehicle, robbed the daughter of money and a debit card, then drove her to the park, where he raped her in the woods.

At yesterday’s arraignment, prosecutor Maria Deaton said that Riz threatened to kill the woman on the drive to Providence. Deaton also said that Riz’s take in the robbery was the debit card and $9.

Ippolito said that he found probable cause that Riz raped the woman twice, as charged. He ordered Riz, who was represented yesterday by a public defender, to return to court on June 23 for appointment of a lawyer. A bail hearing is scheduled for June 30.

gwmiller@projo.com

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