Jay Dockendorf Photo
Police rang the doorbell and rapped on windows. When no one answered, they knocked down the door.
Cops were on an early-morning sweep of the city Tuesday seeking to serve arrest warrants to 42 felons wanted on weapons and narcotics charges.
That was their plan at least.
At 5 am, three teams of officers suited up at their downtown headquarters, then set out a half-hour later. The officers came from the local police force, the state’s parole division, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. Marshall Service. They were acting on a joint six-month investigation of violent felons, many of them allegedly involved in gangs.
Lt. Tim Wydra
Asked why three Hamden officers were accompanying New Haven police on the raid, Lt. Tim Wydra of the Hamden force replied, “Lots of things going on at the border.”
Three hours later, the border was exactly where his team found their suspect.
Armed with tasers, M‑16s, and bulletproof vests, the teams loaded into unmarked cars and discretely and swiftly drove to the various houses where they believed their suspects were hiding.
Assistant Chief for Investigations Tom Wheeler and Lt. John Velleca, head of the Tactical Narcotics Unit
The first three stops to houses in Newhallville and Fair Haven yielded no arrests. The houses were either empty or the suspect had lived elsewhere for some time, officers said.
A fourth stop on Lines Street in the Hill resulted in the confiscation of “some product” that testing in the police van positively identified as marijuana.
Nothing at five or six, either.
But just inside Hamden at 157 Cherry Ann St., the team got its man. After ten minutes of knocking, ringing and yelling into the first-floor apartment, the police got no answer. They had seen movement in the front window and knew the car parked outside was his, so they decided to force entry with a battering ram.
Inside, “Rah-Boo-Boo” was found hiding.
Some of the dialogue was picked up on a TV camera mic worn by one of the officers.
“You’re under arrest!” yelled the police.
“Why?” asked the suspect, who according to the investigation is a drug-dealer and a repeat offender.
“What do you do for a living? – You’re a drug dealer!” The officer turned off his mic.
Since the police had only an arrest warrant, they let their search-dog, Orvis, sniff around the house for them.
The inside was clean, as far as Orvis could tell. Then the suspect turned over the keys to his vehicle. Orvis and the police found some marijuana hidden in the engine.
“Rah-Boo-Boo” is charged with sale of narcotics. According to police, this is his second arrest in two months. “It’s important to get the people in narcotics trafficking locked up and secured,” Lt. Wydra said afterward.
Who replaces the door? “Not us,” said Lt. John Velleca, head of the Tactical Narcotics Unit. “Either the landlord or the tenant.”
As the search was winding down at 157 Cherry Ann St., the landlord arrived. Distraught by the news that had come from the tenant upstairs, he left a message for the female occupant of the apartment: “I’m going to be proceeding with eviction immediately because I cannot endanger the safety of other people in the house,” he said.
The task force drove to their eighth and final house of the morning and encountered a public works truck parked and blocking their suspect’s street. A small shouting match ensued. Eventually, the workers moved the truck.
“Public works didn’t notify our guy,” said Wydra.
At 37 Willis St., a young man came outside and was frisked by the police. After 20 minutes of conversation, though, he returned inside.
“That wasn’t our guy,” said Lt. Velleca as the team returned to their vehicles.
All told, the three teams made 14 arrests Tuesday morning, according to police spokesman Officer Joe Avery. Police consider the raids a success whether they make arrests or only gain more information.
“There’ll be other early mornings like this one,” promised Lt. Wydra.