Police arrest suspect in East Providence stabbing incident

EAST PROVIDENCE — The suspect in a slightly bizarre stabbing case in city has been arrested by East Providence Police, Detective Lieutenant Raymond Blinn said in a statement.

A homeless man, Albert Parenteau, 43, was taken into custody by police for an incident that occurred on June 22, at 12 High Street in in city.

Mr. Parenteau was arrested after police received a tip that he was seen walking toward the High Street address Friday, June 23, at approximately 6:15 p.m.

Mr. Parenteau was charged with assault with a deadly weapon; two counts of felony violation of a no contact order; and on a Superior Court bench warrant for failing to appear for arraignment on bail violation for a domestic strangulation charge.

The alleged incident occurred Thursday afternoon at around 4 p.m. after law enforcement were alerted to a possible stabbing incident on High Street. There, they found a trail of blood leading to the aforementioned address. When responding officers inquired about what had occurred, the victim at first told authorities he had an in-home accident with a knife, receiving the wound after falling on some stairs. Police were quickly able to decipher the scenario was false.

As the investigation continued Friday, officers responded to the area after the tip and set up a perimeter around the residence. The female resident of the High Street residence, who is a family member of Mr. Parenteau, was contacted by the police by phone.

According to Lt. Blinn's statement, the female family member, who also has a No Contact Order against Mr. Parenteau from an earlier Domestic Assault case, made contact with police by phone after several attempts. She appeared nervous on the phone as she told officers that Parenteau was not inside her residence.

She was asked to meet the officers at the door for her safety, so we could make sure she was safe. She stated she would, but after several minutes, she did not open the door. Numerous attempts were made to call her again, but she would not answer the phone, despite officers outside hearing it ring.

Fearing that the female resident was in danger and exigent circumstances were present, officers forced entry into the residence where they found Mr. Parenteau hiding in a bedroom. He was taken into custody without incident.