A man with a violent history who once killed a Boston Police officer has been nabbed for robbery in Rhode Island. Joshua McCullough, 60, assaulted and robbed a woman in a bank parking lot in North Providence, as per a report by the Boston Herald. The incident occurred Tuesday morning when he allegedly punched the woman and fled with her deposit bag containing $12,665.
In 1993, McCullough who was known as Terrell Muhammad at the time, shot and killed Officer Thomas F. Rose while attempting an escape from a downtown police station. According to details provided by CBS Boston News, McCullough was sentenced to serve 26 to 30 years but was released in 2009 after having only to spend 15 years behind bars. His criminal record also includes a manslaughter conviction for the death of a Dorchester store clerk in 1986.
After changing his name in 2018, McCullough continued to run afoul of the law. He has been described by former Herald columnist Peter Gelzinis as "a career criminal’s career criminal." Gelzinis pointedly criticized the justice system saying McCullough was "the reason they invented the so-called ‘three strikes’ law," and lamenting that he had "gotten far too many chances." Thomas Rose Jr., the son of the slain Officer Rose, once expressed his frustration regarding McCullough's early release, stating to the Boston Herald, "Everybody who had something to do with the fact that he’s out now should be accountable for what he’s doing right now."
Early Thursday, local law enforcement apprehended McCullough at his Warwick home. The silver Jeep Cherokee seen leaving the scene of the crime was found parked in his driveway. North Providence Police Chief Colonel Alfredo Ruggiero, Jr. confirmed that McCullough is indeed the same individual convicted of the two prior killings. The accused is now facing charges of first-degree robbery and felony assault, and was expected to be arraigned at Third District Court as reported by the Boston Herald.
