A masked group surrounded a car near the Futsal Courts on Memorial Drive in Webster on Oct. 20, demanding that the victim get out, threatening to kill him, and beating him before fleeing — an attack that has now led to three arrests. The victim was hospitalized, while everyone else in the vehicle escaped unharmed.
Webster Police officers responded to the North Village apartments at approximately 5:26 p.m. that evening to investigate a report of an armed and masked assault, according to Newport Dispatch. Witnesses told police that the victim and several others were sitting in a vehicle when multiple people wearing ski masks approached. As reported by the same outlet, a group of people wearing ski masks approached the car and demanded that the victim get out, according to Newslink Live.
Weapons Drawn, Threats Made
Once the victim was out of the car, two of the suspects brandished edged weapons and threatened to kill him, the Dispatch reported. Accounts diverge on exactly how the third assailant struck him — Newport Dispatch says a third suspect physically assaulted the victim by striking him with a blunt object, while Newslink Live reported that the third suspect struck him with a baton. Either way, the victim was injured during the assault and was transported by Webster EMS to UMass Webster; the remaining occupants in the vehicle were unharmed, per the Dispatch's reporting.
After the attack, the suspects fled the area in a vehicle of their own. The same report notes that officers eventually located the suspect vehicle at Memorial Beach and placed two suspects under arrest there. Webster Police Detectives then secured a search warrant for the vehicle and recovered evidence of the crime, as well as a number of rounds of ammunition, the article states.
Third Suspect Arrested Days Later
A third suspect was arrested days later on an arrest warrant tied to the case, according to the same account. Shrewsbury Post identified the three people arrested as Jaurel Cotto Rivera, 20, of Webster; Adryannia Latuga, 19, of Webster; and Nicole Villegas Garcia, 20, of Webster.
Cotto Rivera was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon involving a knife, carrying a dangerous weapon, and possession of ammunition without an FID card, per Newport Dispatch's reporting. Latuga was arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, specifically a baton, along with carrying a dangerous weapon. Villegas Garcia faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and attempt to commit a crime, the outlet reported.
Police Say Everyone Involved Knew Each Other
Investigators do not believe the ambush was a random attack. Police said the incident does not appear to be random, as all involved parties are known to each other, according to Newport Dispatch's reporting. The outlet's account does not identify the victim, detail the extent of his injuries, or specify a motive behind the confrontation, leaving much of the backstory to this case still unknown.
