Cranston man arrested on fishing boat in Narragansett on multiple warrants

NARRAGANSETT, RI (WLNE) — Yesterday, the U.S. Coast Guard Station Point Judith assisted the Narragansett Police Department along with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) in the arrest of a wanted subject.

The man, identified as 41-year-old John Avarista of Cranston, was wanted by Connecticut State Police in 2023 on numerous warrants for various misdemeanors and felonies.

In total, there were seven arrest warrants against him, including one from the Cranston police.

Avarista is suspected of domestic violence and assault.

He was arrested on Sunday when he was spotted on a fishing boat in Narragansett.

According to a Coast Guard press release, the suspect received a tip that police were waiting at the fishing boat’s home port in the Galilee and then went to a nearby dock to evade officers who arrested him.

Both teams, both on the water and on land, noticed the fishing vessel’s change of berth and quickly took action to intercept the vessel near Great Island Road in Narragansett, the release said.