By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — A city man was arrested Thursday in connection with two robberies, including an incident behind a River Street bar on Aug. 2 in which more than $2,600 was taken and the victim was repeatedly stabbed in the face and back.

Julio Vasquez, 24, of 19 Chester St., was also responsible for a purse snatching on South Main Street on Wednesday night, police said.
He is charged with one count each of first- and second-degree robbery. Following an appearance in District Court, Vasquez was ordered held without bail at the ACI pending a review by a grand jury.
In the former incident, a 44-year-old Smithfield man told police he met Vasquez in Michael’s Café on Elm Street while he was looking for his daughter. Vasquez, who he had never met before, told him they could find her at Our Place, 446 River St.
Driving a tow truck, the man gave Vasquez a ride to the bar, where they parked in back and Vasquez got out. Moments later, the man told police, he felt someone from the passenger side grabbing at his arms and shoulders.
As he struggled with the person, the driver’s side door popped open and he fell out of the vehicle, landing on the ground. At that point, someone struck him on the back of the head and began kicking him.
The man said he could hear two people, including one he later identified as Vasquez, discussing the attack shortly before he felt a series of sharp jabs in his head and sides, causing him to lose consciousness. When he came to, around 3 a.m., he was bleeding, his business cards and personal effects were strewn about him and $2,646 in cash was missing from the top pocket of his shirt. His cell phone, worth over $500, was also gone, he told police.
The victim told police he staggered to River Street, where passersby called 911. The victim was later taken to Landmark Medical Center to be treated for what police described as minor injuries. Doctors found seven wounds in all, but police were uncertain whether they were made with a knife or some other instrument. Vasquez was not charged with causing the man’s physical injuries.
The victim did not make a formal complaint until Thursday, when he also picked Vasquez’s image from a photo spread of possible perpetrators, according to reports.
Police say Vasquez was also the man who, about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, made small-talk with a 43-year-old stranger outside Cumberland Farms on South Main Street before grabbing her handbag and dashing off on foot.
The woman got in her car and tried to chase after Vasquez, but she lost sight of him when her car suddenly broke down, according to Interim Chief Eric L. Croce. The woman told police the thief made off with a small amount of cash.