Massachusetts Woman Charged as Co-Conspirator in Robbery of Woonsocket Gas Station Manager

PROVIDENCE, RI—A Springfield, Mass., woman was ordered detained Thursday at her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Providence on charges of being a co-conspirator in the robbery of Woonsocket gas station manager David D. Main which resulted in his murder. Kelley M. Lajoie, 32, appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David L. Martin on a complaint charging her with Hobbs Act Robbery. Ms. Lajoie was arrested Thursday morning by a team of law enforcement officers from the FBI, the Woonsocket, Providence, Cranston, and Pawtucket Police Departments, and the Rhode Island State Police.

Mr. Main was robbed and shot at close range as he approached the doorstep of a Woonsocket branch office of Citizens Bank on September 20. Mr. Main was about to enter the bank to deposit receipts belonging to the gas station. Jose Anibal Santiago, 33, of Springfield, Mass., and Jason Wayne Pleau, 32, of Providence, were both arraigned Tuesday in Providence District Court on state charges of murder and first-degree robbery. District Court Judge Elaine Bucci ordered the defendants held without bail.

The government alleged in U.S. District Court Thursday that Ms. Lajoie acted as a lookout and notified at least one of the co-defendants by cell phone of Mr. Main’s whereabouts and movements prior to and as he traveled to the bank to make a deposit. Mr. Main was running toward the entrance to the bank and was shot as he reached the front door.

The arrest of Lajoie was jointly announced by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch; Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas S. Carey; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; and R.I. State Police Superintendent Colonel Brendon P. Doherty.

Commenting on today’s arrest, U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha said, “This office is committed to protecting federally insured banks and, most importantly, the persons who use them. To that end, we have worked closely with our federal, state, and local partners since the killing of Mr. Main outside the Citizens Bank in Woonsocket on September 20. Today’s charge against Ms. Lajoie does not signal the end of the federal investigation into the killing of Mr. Main. To the contrary, our investigation continues.”

Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Carey added, “The arrest of Ms. Lajoie is another significant step forward in this investigation and to getting those responsible for this horrific crime off our streets. The Woonsocket Police Department, the FBI, and the State Police are committed to continue to work together with the U.S. Attorney and Attorney General to seek out every piece of information and evidence available and to hold everyone who had a role in the robbery and murder of Mr. Main accountable for their actions.”

If convicted of the charge of Hobbs Act Robbery, the defendant faces up to a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. The Hobbs Act is a U.S. federal law that prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce.

The matter is being prosecuted in U.S. District Court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adi K. Goldstein and William J. Ferland.       

The case, which remains under investigation, is being investigated jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Woonsocket Police Department and Rhode Island State Police, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Rhode Island National Guard.

A team of prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Rhode Island Department of Attorney General continue to work together to review evidence and information related to the robbery and murder of Mr. Main.

A complaint is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.