One of two men robbing a Fairfield Street man was wearing a mask depicting the marvel Comics character Venom. In a separate incident, someone slipped a Joker card under a rear store door —the night before someone tried to break in.
Those are details from real-life incidents reported this past week to the police on the west side of town.
They’re included in the weekly summary prepared by top West Hills/ Westville/ West Rock/ Beverly Hills/ Amity cop Lt. Rose Dell, which follows:
FROM 9/29/19 to 10/5/19 POLICE RESPONDED TO 233 CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE WESTVILLE/WEST HILLS SECTION OF NEW HAVEN.
A resident of Fairfield Street was robbed at gunpoint on 9/28. As he walked up his porch stairs around 11 p.m., he felt a hand grab his right shoulder and a male voice said, “Don’t move, empty your pockets.” He yelled for help, turned around and saw two males. One of the males placed the barrel of a silver colored, semi-automatic handgun to his forehead while the other went through his pockets. He didn’t have any money, but they took off with a pack of Marlboro menthol cigarettes. He described one of the males as a tall, heavy-set, black male in his 20s with a medium complexion. He had short, ear-length dreadlocks, chin stubble or a short goatee and was wearing a white sweatshirt. The other male wore a black hooded sweatshirt and a black mask like the Marvel comic “Venom.”
Police responded with the Fire Department to a box alarm on Springside Avenue. Heavy smoke was emanating from the basement. The FD located a smoldering mop head. An arson investigator responded to the scene. The FD removed the mop head and put fans in the basement to clear the smoke.
A resident of the 1800 block of Chapel Street reported that numerous items were stolen from his vehicle sometime over the weekend. He left his car unlocked and a laptop, Bluetooth headset and a computer docking station were stolen. Wednesday afternoon a plumber was completing a job at a residence on South Genesee Street. Since he only had a few minutes of work, he left the light on in his van and the doors unlocked. His cell phone and Apple Ipad were stolen. On 10/5, a resident of Farnham Avenue had a black Coach wallet, $300 and a pair of Celine leopard print sunglasses stolen from her vehicle. She believed she forgot to lock her car.
On 9/30, a hotel guest of the New Haven Inn reported that his turquoise colored scooter was stolen from the hotel parking lot three days ago. Later the same day, the guest contacted the police again and said he located his scooter in the area of Valley Street and Mountain Road being driven by an unknown male. He confronted the male, who got off the scooter. Another male, who was with the unknown scooter operator, pointed a gun at the hotel guest. The male with the gun was described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, about 17-21 years old, with long curly hair, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
On 9/30, around 9 p.m., a vigilant resident spotted and followed a male checking car doors and front doors in lower Westville. The subject walked on Yale Avenue, Westwood Road, Alden Avenue, Chapel Street, Edgewood Avenue, McKinley Avenue and Woodbridge Avenue. He approached only houses or driveways that were not lit. Police arrived, but the subject disappeared somewhere between Forrest Road and Alden Avenue. He was described as a white male, between 25-35 years of age, who wore a green ball hat, grey sweatpants and a backpack.
On Thursday morning, a waiter at Bella’s Café arrived at work and found the rear door handle was broken, and the office door in the basement had been kicked open. The only item missing was the cable modem.
Officers responded to the AT&T store on Whalley Avenue on 10/3 for the report of some suspicious activity. An employee said that two days ago she found a Joker playing card was left under the front door sometime overnight when the store was closed. Today she heard a loud bang at the rear door as if someone was trying to gain entry. She opened the door, saw a small indentation on the door but saw no other damage or suspicious individuals in the area.