Man shot, co-worker is arrested

CRANSTON, R.I. -- Police yesterday charged a 33-year-old Providence man in connection with a shooting at a food-processing plant that left another man hospitalized.

Mynor Juarez allegedly shot Eastland Food Products employee Tereso Morente in the back. Morente was in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Polly Stiness.

Juarez was arraigned at a Cranston police station on charges of felony assault, possession of a firearm by an alien, carrying a pistol without a license, and firing a weapon in a compact area.

Juarez, a co-worker at the plant, was carrying a .25-caliber Beretta semiautomatic, police said.

"We're definitely looking into the possibility that it was an accident," Sergeant Michael Gates said.

Bail was set at $100,000 cash and a bail review hearing was scheduled for today. Juarez was held at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Police arrived at Eastland Food Products around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday after getting a call, and they found Morente on the loading dock.

About 50 plant employees were taken to the Cranston police station for witness statements. Most of the workers are Central American and a language barrier hampered the process, police said. A man who identified himself as Mike, a quality control manager at Eastland Food Products, said the plant processes vegetables, mainly potatoes.