Crime & Safety

Barrington Police Sergeant Found Guilty of Cyberstalking, Obstructing Justice

Superior Court jury finds Joseph Andreozzi guilty of domestic cyberstalking and obstruction of justice in under 90 minutes.

A suspended Barrington police officer, Sgt. Joseph Andreozzi, has been found guilty of threatening his former wife and children with text messages and obstructing the RI State Police in their investigation. 

A Superior Court jury reached a verdict less than 90 minutes after getting the case on both counts today, July 19, according to wpri.com. 

 Andreozzi was charged with threatening his ex-wife and children, and then - while his phone was in a State Police evidence room - remotely deleting harassing text messages with a software program he purchased at the Verizon store on Waseca Avenue in Barrington.

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Sgt. Andreozzi was on paid leave until his Grand Jury indictment. He was then suspended without pay by Barrington Police Chief John LaCross.

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin issued the following statement:

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“As a police officer, sworn to uphold the law at all times, the defendant has a moral, ethical and legal obligation to conduct himself with the highest standard of integrity, which he clearly failed to do.  Moreover, it is abhorrent that the defendant would obstruct fellow officers from doing their jobs in conducting this investigation.

"I commend the efforts of the Barrington Police Department, who received the initial complaint about one of their own, as well as the Rhode Island State Police, who conducted the investigation.”

Andreozzi was found guilty by a Providence County Superior Court jury of obstruction of the judicial system and domestic cyberstalking. The trial was presided over by Superior Court Justice Susan E. McGuirl.  

The maximum penalty on the obstruction of the judicial system, a felony, is five years, according to the Attorney General's Office. The maximum penalty on the cyberstalking, a misdemeanor, is one year.

Motion for new trial is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 2.  A date for sentencing has not been scheduled.

Andreozzi, of Pawtucket, remains out on bail, but Judge McGuirl amended the conditions to his bail to include:
  • Increased bail to $10,000 with surety (it was previously personal recognizance)
  • No contact with the victim
  • Restricted his travel to within the state (no out of state travel)
  • No access to firearms (his firearms had previously been taken)

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Regine and Special Assistant Attorney General Kate Brody prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.


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