Prison Time for North Attleboro Walmart TV Thief

FALL RIVER — A Providence man will be spending three to four years in state prison after he was convicted last month of stealing large flat screen TVs from multiple SouthCoast Walmarts and threatening a store manager with a knife.

The Bristol County District Attorney's Office said 38-year-old Luis Adorno was also convicted of reckless driving after he flipped off a Swansea police officer trying to pull him over on Route 6 and then fled on I-195 at 100 miles per hour.

Adorno had stolen a flat screen television from Walmart in North Attleboro on July 5, 2019 after he was asked to show a receipt for a 43-inch TV he was carting out of the store.

Get our free mobile app

He refused, removed the theft detection device, and fled.

Adorno returned two days later to the same store and stole two 55-inch televisions, according to the district attorney's office.

The next day, on July 8, 2019, Adorno pulled a knife on a manager at the Walmart in Seekonk after he confronted the defendant while he was stealing a 55-inch TV.

The manager recorded the incident on his cell phone.

On July 9, Swansea police spotted Adorno driving on Route 6 when he gave the officer his middle finger, drove directly towards the police cruiser, missing it by inches.

He then drove over a median before fleeing on I-195 towards Rhode Island at high speed, weaving through traffic and at one point driving in the breakdown lane, according to police.

Police stopped pursuing Adorno at the state line, but he was eventually arrested in Rhode Island.

Adorno pleaded guilty on Dec. 21 in Fall River Superior Court to charges of armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, operating a motor vehicle to endanger, larceny and unlawful removal of an anti-theft device.

His prison sentence will be followed by two years of probation.

"The defendant is a threat to public safety with a history of committing serious crimes," said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn.

"A state prison sentence was warranted."