Two months after he rammed a stolen car into an East Rock bar and sent a man to the hospital, police arrested a 16-year-old West Havener.
The teen was arrested on Wednesday for a variety of charges stemming from the incident, including driving under the influence, larceny, and assault.
Here’s what happened, in the words of police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman:
“In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 3, 2012, Sgt. Christopher Rubino passed through the intersection of Chapel and State Streets. He heard screaming from a parking lot, then a woman waving frantically at him. She exclaimed ‘He just stole my car!’ Its operator drove north on State Street. Sgt. Rubino, believing she’d possibly been carjacked, turned around, hit the lights and siren, and went after the car.
“The driver sped up and tried turning on to Clark Street. He missed the street and drove through the al fresco dining area of Christopher Martins restaurant at 860 State St. Two patrons dove out of the way as the car hit the building. Three nurses were visiting the restaurant and were pressed into action. One tended to a man who had a cut on his face. The others helped a man with an injured leg. EMTs were summoned and the man with the leg injury was taken to the hospital.
“The driver is a 16-year-old boy from West Haven. He was handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car. He wasn’t injured.
Paul Bass Photo
“The woman who’d reported the car stolen arrived at the scene and spoke to officers. She said she’d been with the juvenile perpetrator that evening at Karma Nightclub (825 Chapel Street). She said he was served and consumed ‘eight mixed drinks’ while inside. She said they left after he got into a fight. When they got to the car (a car that was rented by the victim’s father) he took off in it.
“Officers at the scene smelled the odor of alcohol beverages on the arrested teen. He was sent to the hospital.
“A few weeks later, Sgt. Rubino submitted a search warrant for the teen’s medical records. The state laboratory then notified Sgt. Rubino the teen’s Serum Alcohol Level was over the limit for a person under the age of 21, when converted to an alcohol concentration following the accident. Sgt. Rubino filed the arrest warrant.”
“On 8 August, 2012, Police arrested the teenager at his home in West Haven, charging him with the following;
” • Reckless endangerment in the 1st degree
” • Larceny in the 2nd degree
” • Criminal mischief in the 3rd degree
” • 2 counts of attempted assault in the 2nd degree with a motor vehicle
” • 2 counts of assault in the 3rd degree
” • DUI
” • Reckless driving
” • Increasing speed to elude police
” • Failing to obey an officer’s signal
” • Driving in violation of a learner’s permit.”
In other police news, according to Hartman:
Robbery: Early Thursday morning, police responded to 29.5 Eld St. on a report of a burglary. The tenant told cops that he and his girlfriend had been asleep on the first floor when he woke up early to feed the cat. He noticed the front door was open. “Curious, he looked around and ascended the spiral staircase to the second floor loft,” Hartman reported.
Upstairs, he saw a man standing in the corner. He grabbed the intruder, who pushed him away and fled. The burglar hopped a small wall and fell to the first floor, leaving a glove and flashlight behind.
The burglar had already moved a bike out of the house and had it waiting in the driveway. He escaped with two stolen backpacks containing two laptops, three iPods, and an iPhone.