According to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, the man from Providence who was convicted of charges stemming from a road rage incident and an unrelated armed standoff will be spending the next 18 years in prison. Timothy Desjardins pleaded guilty earlier this week to a number of felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Desjardins was initially arrested in October 2021 for shooting a man in the head in response to a road rage incident. Desjardins and the victim pulled into a parking lot on Atwells Avenue to confront one another. In November 2021, the 36-year-old was arrested again after an armed standoff at a Federal Hill barbershop. Desjardins barricaded himself inside the business after officers tried to approach him as he was walking down the street.
Desjardins has also been federally charged for his alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Neronha said that Desjardins’ crimes are “…classic examples of what happens when guns get into the hands of violent criminals who have no respect for human life or the law.” He added, “This sentencing means that a dangerous man will be behind bars for a long time, and Rhode Islanders will be safer for it.”
Desjardins was sentenced to 38 years in prison with 18 to serve and a 20-year nonparolable suspended sentence.