By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — A 47-year-old man who returned a slap to a four-year-old boy and then became embroiled in a fight with another man over the incident was arrested by police on assault charges.

Reportedly, upon his way to the cellblock, the suspect told the officers, “If anyone hits me, I’ll hit ‘em back, even if they are five years old.”
Pawtucket Police were dispatched to the Splish Splash Laundry, 605 Main St. on Wednesday at around 8:43 p.m. for a report of a dispute between a man and a woman and the woman’s young son.
The woman told police that her child had been playing outside on the sidewalk and had slapped the suspect, identified as Jose Fernandes, of 599 Main St., 3rd, Pawtucket, in the face. She said that Fernandes had become angry and slapped her son in the back.
She told police that she does not allow anyone to hit her son and also felt that Fernandes had hit the boy much harder than he should have.
The woman told police that a verbal argument ensued, with Fernandes yelling obscenities at her and her son as they stood on the sidewalk. She said that another man came upon the scene and tried to intervene. However, Fernandes attacked the man, punching him in the face and then kicking him several times while he was on the ground.
The male victim, a 54-year-old East Providence man, told police he had heard Fernandes loudly yelling obscenities and had asked him to calm down. He said Fernandes immediately hit him in the face with a closed fist. The man said the two began fighting and ended up on the ground, where, because of his larger size, Fernandes was able to get on top of him.
He then got up and kicked him several times in the torso, and then left the scene on a bicycle.
According to police, at around 9:25 p.m., Patrol Officer Alias Imondi located Fernandes walking through Collyer Park. He admitted to Imondi that he had been drinking and was taken into custody.