Evidence in car. Not actual case photo
If you’re going to rob two grocery stores in two days, maybe change your shoes.
That’s the brutal lesson Evan Silveira, 42, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island apparently never learned — and it cost him. His distinctive Nike Air Jordan sneakers showed up on surveillance footage at both Stop & Shop robberies, in two different states, 24 hours apart. Fashion sense: questionable. Criminal instincts: worse.
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Day One: Pawtucket, Rhode Island — March 25, 2024
Silveira’s two-day crime tour kicked off on March 25, 2024, when he walked into a Stop & Shop in Pawtucket and robbed it. Details of how that one went down are thin, but what we know is this: he got away, felt good about it, and decided to do it again the very next morning.
Same guy. Same sneakers. New state. New store.
Day Two: Attleboro, Massachusetts — March 26, 2024
On March 26, Silveira crossed the Rhode Island-Massachusetts border and walked into a Stop & Shop in Attleboro. This time he came prepared — or at least he thought he did. He threw on a surgical mask, approached a clerk, and handed over a handwritten note demanding cash.
The clerk complied. Silveira grabbed the money and bolted, jumping into a Nissan Maxima with Rhode Island plates and disappearing into traffic.
For about two hours, anyway.
The Traffic Stop That Almost Ended It All
Two hours after the Attleboro robbery, Attleboro police pulled Silveira over for a completely unrelated traffic violation. Right guy. Wrong timing — for them.
Here’s where it gets maddening: cops found cash he couldn’t explain, the surgical mask still on him, and a notebook with white lined paper. Everything but a signed confession. The problem? The BOLO — “Be On the Lookout” — hadn’t come through the system yet. No active alert, no confirmed suspect. They had to let him walk.
Let that sink in. The guy who just robbed a Stop & Shop two hours earlier was sitting in front of police officers with the mask and the cash, and he drove away.
“He was stopped by Attleboro police for an unrelated motor vehicle violation approximately two hours after the robbery. Officers found the surgical mask, unexplained cash, and a notebook — but the BOLO had not yet been transmitted.”
— Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
The Shoes That Sealed It
Once investigators reviewed surveillance footage from both stores, the case started coming together fast. The same pair of distinctive Nike Air Jordan sneakers appeared in footage from the Pawtucket robbery on March 25 and the Attleboro robbery on March 26. Two stores. Two states. Same shoes on the same feet.
A search warrant executed at Silveira’s home in Pawtucket turned up the robbery note from the Attleboro job and clothing worn during both crimes. The sneakers presumably weren’t hidden under the floorboards.
Investigators also connected the dots from that traffic stop — the notebook with white lined paper matched the paper used in the handwritten demand note handed to the Attleboro clerk.
The Confession — Well, Half of One
When confronted with the evidence, Silveira admitted to the Pawtucket robbery. The Attleboro one? He claimed he couldn’t remember it — citing substance abuse at the time.
Convenient amnesia aside, the physical evidence told a complete story without his cooperation. The matching shoes. The robbery note found at his house. The surgical mask found in his car during the traffic stop. The clothing from both crimes sitting in his home.
He was charged in Bristol County, Massachusetts for the Attleboro robbery, and presumably faced charges in Rhode Island for the Pawtucket one as well.
The Sentencing: DA Wants Prison, Judge Has Other Ideas
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III asked for 2 to 4 years in state prison. That’s the kind of ask that makes sense when someone committed two armed robberies across two states in 48 hours, got caught with evidence at a traffic stop, had more evidence at his house, and confessed to half of it.
The judge gave him five years probation.
Five. Years. Probation.
No prison time. Walk out the door, check in with your probation officer, don’t rob any more grocery stores. That’s the deal.
What the DA Was Asking For vs. What Happened
- DA’s recommendation: 2–4 years state prison
- Actual sentence: 5 years probation
- Prison time served: Zero
To be fair, the Massachusetts court system handles a lot of robbery cases. Probationary sentences aren’t unheard of for first-time or non-violent offenders. But two robberies in two days, across state lines, with a paper trail that practically gift-wrapped the case — it’s the kind of outcome that makes people wonder what it actually takes to see the inside of a prison cell.
The Stupid Criminal Hall of Fame: What Silveira Got Wrong
Let’s do a quick breakdown of every decision that tanked this operation:
- Wore the same shoes to both robberies. Surveillance cameras are literally everywhere in grocery stores. The shoes were distinctive. This was the ballgame.
- Robbed in the same chain, back to back. Stop & Shop’s loss prevention teams talk to each other. So do police departments. Robbing the same brand twice in 24 hours is the kind of pattern that gets noticed fast.
- Kept the evidence. The robbery note was at his house. The mask was in his car. The clothes were in his home. None of this ended up in a dumpster somewhere.
- Got pulled over with the loot. Two hours after the robbery, still carrying the cash and the mask. There’s bold and then there’s this.
- Kept a notebook that matched the demand note. Investigators matched the paper from his notebook to the paper the demand note was written on. He brought his own evidence to a traffic stop.
The surgical mask was apparently for COVID prevention at the robbery, not disguise purposes — because the Nike Air Jordans were doing all the identification work anyway.
Context: Stop & Shop Robberies in Massachusetts
Stop & Shop operates dozens of locations across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and robbery attempts at grocery stores — while not common — do happen. Attleboro is a small city in Bristol County with about 45,000 residents, situated right on the Rhode Island border. It’s about 20 miles from Providence and roughly 40 miles from Fall River.
The Bristol County DA’s office handles cases stretching from the South Coast up through the Attleboro area, and DA Quinn has been consistent in pushing for meaningful prison sentences in robbery cases. Whether the courts agree with those recommendations is another story.
Substance abuse is frequently cited in cases like this across Massachusetts, and courts often factor treatment and rehabilitation into sentencing decisions. Whether that’s the right call in a two-state, two-day robbery spree is a matter of opinion — but it’s worth noting that this wasn’t a single impulsive act. Silveira drove across state lines and targeted a second store the next morning.
Bottom Line
Evan Silveira robbed two Stop & Shop locations in two days, left a trail of evidence that included matching sneakers on surveillance footage, a robbery note in his own home, the mask in his car, and cash he couldn’t explain when stopped by police two hours after the second robbery.
The District Attorney’s office called for prison time. The court gave him probation.
The Air Jordans, meanwhile, are presumably still out there somewhere — probably the most famous footwear in Bristol County right now.
Source: WBSM / Bristol County District Attorney’s Office press release.
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