PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Attacking the person who delivers your pizza could become a felony in Rhode Island under a proposed state law.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio, of North Providence, says he introduced the bill because of increasing assaults on delivery people in Providence.
A hearing is scheduled Tuesday. The legislation would make assaulting a delivery person a crime subject to up to three years in prison and $3,000 in fines, which are stiffer penalties than an assault charge.
Punishment would be more severe — five to 20 years in prison — if a weapon is used that seriously injures the delivery person.
The Providence City Council requested the legislation after more than a dozen robberies last year.
A delivery driver was stabbed and robbed at a Providence apartment complex in December.
