Newport man arrested following Rite Aid robbery

NEWPORT — Jacob Tourangeau, a 33-year-old man from Newport, was arrested for assault and robbery today.

At around 3:00 p.m. police received a report that a man entered the Rite Aid Pharmacy at the Waterfront Plaza, and handed the clerk a note demanding morphine or he would hurt customers.

The clerk gave the suspect a bottle of pills and he fled the store.

Police located Tourangeau, who matched the description of the suspect, on the boardwalk in Newport at approximately 3:09 p.m.

When police approached, he took off running toward Main Street.

Witnesses told police they saw him near the State Building.

After searching the area, Tourangeau was located inside a bathroom stall at the State Building.

He was taken into custody and transported to North Country Hospital for evaluation, where he is being held overnight.

He will be transported to the Northern State Correctional Center where he will be held on charges and escape status from probation and parole, pending his arraignment in Orleans County Criminal Court.