Leopoldo Belen, 36, of Woonsocket, was found guilty of four counts from first-degree sexual assault for his own girlfriend’s rape case. A Superior Court jury found him guilty of repeatedly raping his then-girlfriend upon becoming enraged after she smoked their last cigarette.
Belen violently assaulted the then 21-year-old woman, who fled their apartment wearing only a bed sheet, A neighbor who saw her called 911 on behalf of the woman, who then testified at the trial before judge Daniel A. Procaccini.
Not only that, Belen, a repeat felon aka “Blah” or “Black,” is also awaiting court decisions of the 2013 beating death of a 78-year-old man during a home invasion. He has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges he faces in that case.
The decision came two weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, Joel G. Valdez, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Cabral’s death. Valdez, 29, is facing up to life in prison plus 111 years after admitting to that and other crimes, including multiple robberies. Valdez will be sentenced later pending the “successful” completion of his cooperation agreement.
According to prosecutors, Valdez told investigators that he and Belen had plotted to rob Angilly, in search of marijuana, money and narcotics. It was Belen who then turned on Cabral — punching, pistol-whipping, and kicking him and stomping on his back. In sentencing Belen, prosecutors also announced that Wilbert Richardson had been cleared in Cabral’s death. A floor installer and stepfather of three, Richardson, then 40, spent 10 months in prison and eight months on home confinement after Providence police charged him in Cabral’s killing following Angilly’s eyewitness identification of Richardson as his attacker.
The wounds left the old man paralyzed. Angilly told investigators that he played dead as the men attacked Cabral, but he was able to recognize one suspect as a friend of his ex-roommate. Cabral died days later of complications due to head and neck trauma.
Woonsocket Police Detectives George McMann and Michael Flood led the investigation into the sexual assault while John Krollman and Kimberly Ahern prosecuted the case.
Read More: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-convicted-raping-girlfriend-smoked-ci-article-1.3019533
