North Kingstown man given life in prison for 2009 violence spree | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — In a clear, deliberate voice, David J. Catalano pleaded guilty to seven felony charges on Tuesday stemming from an explosion of violence in spring 2009 that left a gas-station attendant dead in East Greenwich and a police officer shot in North Kingstown.

Superior Court Judge Edwin J. Gale sentenced Catalano, 31, of 10 Wasp Rd., North Kingstown, to life in prison and an additional 17 years to serve for the rampage on May 17, 2009, that shattered a Sunday afternoon in these two quiet bedroom communities.

Catalano’s day of reckoning came in an emotionally charged courtroom where the daughters of the dead man, Clifford LeValley, 66, of East Greenwich, and the woman he tried to help at the gas station when he was killed, fought back tears and asked the judge for a stiff penalty.

The daughters, Jennifer A. McNamara and Christine Johnson, stood at the lectern and, with their voices trembling, talked about the loss of their father, best friend and grandfather to their five grandchildren.

“Words can’t begin to express what David Catalano did to us and our family,” McNamara said. “He took the most precious person from us. He does not deserve a place in society.”

Added Johnson: “My dad was the kindest, gentlest man I have every known. I am who I am today because of him.”

Kelly M. Ringston also felt compelled to address the court. LeValley was pumping air into the tire of her car when Catalano ran him over in his SUV, left him for dead and fled the gas station in East Greenwich. Catalano also struck Ringston’s car, but she was not seriously injured.

“My life, as I had always known it to be, forever changed,” she said. “And, although I survived, the pain of others involved is sometimes overwhelming. There is not a moment that I don’t think about that day. … I just can’t understand a human being who would do that to another human being.”

The sentencing hearing began about 11:45 a.m. with three sheriffs escorting the rugged Catalano into the courtroom in leg chains and handcuffs. He wore a dark, pin-striped suit and white shirt with an open collar.

Judge Gale mentioned that Catalano had received extensive mental-health treatment at the Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston. He takes medication for, among other things, psychosis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Despite the problems, Catalano was deemed competent to stand trial.

About 15 North Kingstown police officers, including Travis Maiato, the officer Catalano shot twice, crowded into the courtroom in the J. Howard McGrath Judicial Complex. Maiato has recovered from the gunshot wounds and returned to duty. He twice declined to address the court.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen A. Regine said that, had the case gone to trial, he would have proved that on May 17, 2009, Catalano and his mother pulled into Willie’s Shell station, on Post Road, in East Greenwich shortly before 1 p.m.

Regine said Catalano ran down LeValley and crashed into the car, jostling Ringston across the front seat. Catalano gunned his SUV in reverse and sped south on Route 1 until he reached the house in North Kingstown where he lived with his mother.

Several witnesses called the 911 emergency number.

About an hour later, North Kingstown police officer Travis Maiato stopped by Catalano’s home and spotted the damaged SUV outside. He knocked on the door and spoke to Catalano and his mother.

Suddenly, Regine said, Catalano charged Maiato, “knocked him to the ground,” and grabbed the officer’s department-issued handgun. Catalano fired three shots at Maiato. One struck his shoulder, another his back. Maiato was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

“He attempted to kill [Maiato],” Regine said.

Catalano took off in Maiato’s cruiser and was arrested a short time later when police boxed in the cruiser on Route 1and pulled out Catalano through a window.

Gale asked Catalano if he agreed with Regine’s presentation of the facts. “They are true to a certain extent,” he said.

Catalano quickly consulted with his court-appointed lawyer, M. Christine O’Connell. After a brief conversation, O’Connell told Gale that her client “agrees to the critical elements of the charges.”

In the plea agreement, Catalano pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit specified felonies; discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; assault on a police officer, injury resulting; larceny of a stolen firearm; driving to endanger, death resulting; leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting; driving to endanger, resulting in physical injury.

The life sentence was imposed for shooting Maiato.

Three other felony charges were dismissed: felony assault, larceny over $500 and leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting.

Moments before sentencing, Catalano took advantage of his opportunity to address the court. He rose from the defendant’s table and pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pants pocket.

“I’m very sorry for the events that occurred,” he said in a flat voice. “If I could take back what I did, I would. I’m very sorry, and I pray for forgiveness at this time.”