Man Held In Mansion Robbery, Rape
JOHN KING , Associated Press
AP News Archive Jul. 23, 1986 6:48 AM ET
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) _ Rape, robbery and burglary charges were lodged against a gunman who allegedly tied up a family vacationing in a Millionaires' Row mansion, stole cash and jewelry worth more than $1 million and fled in a taxi, police said.
The suspect was arrested in a Providence hotel room a few hours after the Tuesday morning incident at Summer Wind Estate. The booty was piled on a table in the room, police said. Calvin R. Walker Jr., 29, of New York, was held overnight by Newport police pending arraignment today on charges of first-degree sexual assault, burglary and several robbery counts, Detective Capt. Steven Weaver said.
The victims, a family of seven and a maid, were from Florida, Weaver said. Two, the rape victim and Dexter Drake Coffin Jr., 64, were treated at Newport Hospital and released.
Providence police said they recovered most of the money and jewelry when they arrested Walker at the Biltmore Plaza hotel. ''The officers were told at the front desk that a man matching the suspect's description had checked in, they went up to his room and when the door was opened they were greeted with an impressive display of jewelry sitting in full view on a table,'' Detective Maj. Milton Wilson said. On the table were several gold-and-diamond broaches, a triple chain of pearls, watches, necklaces and rings, as well as a stack of money with a $100 bill on top. Police found a bag containing several guns on the floor. Walker paid for the room with a $100 bill, Wilson said.
After learning the suspect took the cab from the mansion to Providence, a 40-mile drive, police searched downtown bus and train stations before finding Walker at the hotel, Wilson said.
Coffin is the father of Dexter Drake Coffin III, 37, heir to a $19 million fortune his family made from developing material for the flow-through tea bag and other paper products. The younger Coffin was serving an 11-year prison term for various prescription fraud convictions across Virginia when he escaped April 22 while being transported back to jail from a visit to his psychiatrist. He was captured 44 days later in Tilton, N.H., where authorities said he was trying to fill a phony drug prescription. He was returned to Virginia, convicted of escape and sentenced to an additional two years in prison.
Dexter Drake Coffin, III, 64, of West Palm Beach, FL, formerly of Charlottesville, VA, departed this life unexpectedly on Sunday, August 11, 2013 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, FL. He was preceded in death by his cherished son, Ryan Kendrick Coffin. Dexter is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Jo Anne Jones Coffin; beloved mother, Joyce Coffin of Palm Beach, FL and Lake Sunapee, NH; siblings, Robert Olmsted of Brooklyn, CT, Edward Coffin of West Palm Beach, FL, Martha Coffin of Palm Beach, FL and Stuart, FL, Laura Coffin of Atlanta, GA, and Windsor Coffin (Erin) of Key Largo, FL and Winter Harbor, ME, and six step-siblings; daughter, Kathryn Greenhalgh of Centerville, MA; sons, Sean Coffin (Melissa) of West Palm Beach, FL, Thomas Matthew Coffin, Sr. (Tisha) of Manquin, VA, Lance Coffin (Marlena) of West Palm Beach, FL, Tavis Coffin (Kelli) of Charlottesville, VA, Dexter Coffin, IV of Wellington, FL, and Gavin Coffin of Philadelphia, PA; grandchildren, Thomas Coffin, Jr., Justin Coffin, Micah Coffin, Noah Coffin, and Hannah Coffin.
Dexter Coffin, III was the grandson of Dexter Drake Coffin, Sr., of Windsor Locks, CT. Their family company, The Dexter Corporation, began in 1767, prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was the oldest company on the New York Stock Exchange until it was sold in the year 2000. A man who adored his family, he loved equally, including a deep affection for his dogs. An avid enthusiast of planes and boats, there was nothing Dexter enjoyed more than soaring through the air or across the water. It was not unforeseen to find him indulging in one or the other.
A private graveside funeral and interment were held at Riverview Cemetery in Charlottesville, VA, on Saturday, August 24 near his dearly departed son, Ryan, as were his wishes.