By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Police said officers shot and killed a Tiverton man suspected of gunning down another man he had arranged to meet in a cemetery Monday night, and that Edward Acquisto, 80, had served time for manslaughter and a rape in the 1970’s.
Tiverton Chief Thomas Blakey said police believe Acquisto shot and killed John Cloud, 81 of Kingston, Mass. after the two had arranged to meet shortly before 7:00 Monday evening inside the Pocasset Hill Cemetery. Blakey said family members told police Acquisto often went to the cemetery to read his bible.
A bulletin issued by Tiverton police alerted officers in neighboring Fall River, who spotted Acquisto’s car near King Philip Street. They chased him back into Tiverton, and onto Ford Farm Road, across Main Road from the cemetery.
“I seen the black car flying by and all the police going after him,” said Lana Murray, who lives on Main Road near the two shooting scenes. “And then, I walked over to the drugstore and I heard all the guns shooting.”
“The suspect did, in fact, fire at officers, yes,” said Chief Blakey. “They did return fire, and the suspect was struck.” Police said both men died where they were gunned down.
Police did not disclose how many shots were fired at Acquisto, but residents in the neighborhood reported hearing as many as six shots.
Two Fall River officers and a Tiverton police officer have been placed on leave pending the investigation.
“Because a death is involved, our practice is to present this matter to a grand jury at some point in the future once the investigation is completed,” said Gerard Coyne, Deputy Rhode Island Attorney General.
Police don’t know whether there was bad blood between the two men.
“We’re still putting that together and that’s part of our investigation, to try to determine what led up to the shooting,” said Captain Matthew Moynihan of the Rhode Island State Police, which is jointly investigating the shootings with Tiverton and Fall River police, the Bristol County, Massachusetts District Attorney’s Office and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office.
Acquisto served time for a 1978 manslaughter and a 1979 rape, both occurred in Woonsocket, according to the Attorney General’s office.
The Providence Journal reported Acquisto received a heart operation while in prison, was rejected for parole several times, but was released on parole in 1995, subsequently violated parole, then was finally released in 2003.
