Four men disavowed any connection to the marijuana paraphernalia found in their car; a trio robbed a pizza delivery driver; and Officer William Gargone tracked down a burglar who’d been caught on a Willard Street home security camera.
And a pothole got fixed after it damaged two cars at Lawncrest and Fairfield.
Those tales appear in the latest roundup of west side police highlights prepared by top Westville/West Hills/West Rock/Amity/Beverly Hills cop Lt. Rose Dell.
Her write-up follows:
FROM 2/23/19 to 3/02/19 POLICE RESPONDED TO 144 CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE WESTVILLE/WEST HILLS SECTION OF NEW HAVEN. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF NOTABLE INCIDENTS:
On Sunday morning, a resident of Westwood Road noticed that her husband’s wallet was stolen from their vehicle. She said it was possibly left unlocked, and there was no damage to the exterior of the vehicle. Another resident found miscellaneous items from the wallet, including some cash, in the area of Edgewood Avenue and Alden Avenue and returned them to the Westwood resident.
A resident of Lawncrest Road contacted the police on 2/25 to file a theft report. Sometime during the day a package from Kohl’s was delivered to the home. The resident came home from work and found the box had been damaged and all the items inside were missing. The thief made off with some men’s clothing and cold weather gear.
On Tuesday morning a resident of Valley Street reported that her vehicle was vandalized overnight. She found the exterior of the vehicle was spray painted black, three of the tires were slashed, the front windshield was shattered, and blue paint was thrown throughout the interior. A nasty message was scrawled across the side of the vehicle. The resident provided no names but hinted at some ongoing issues with some local females.
Police responded on Tuesday morning to the intersection of Lawncrest Road and Fairfield Street on the report of a public hazard in the roadway. Two vehicles ran over a large pothole at the intersection which caused damage to their vehicles. One vehicle sustained a flat tire; the other had damage to the lower portion of the front bumper. Officer Michael Valente took photographs of the damage to both vehicles and then promptly notified Public Works. Public Works responded to the scene and filled the hole.
Two vehicles were stolen in Westville/West Hills this week. A resident of Lakeview Terrace reported that her Honda Civic was stolen out of her driveway in the overnight hours between 2/26 – 2/27. The keys were not left in the vehicle. The vehicle was recovered on Frederick Street on 3/2. On 2/27, a Nissan Altima was stolen at the Sunoco gas station on Whalley Avenue. The car was left running, with the key fob in the vehicle, while the driver ran into the store.
On Thursday evening, a Hamden pizza delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint on Pollard Street. When the driver arrived at the address, a female approached his vehicle and asked him if he had change for a $100 bill. The driver exited the vehicle to check the authenticity of the bill. As he stood near the female, he felt a hard object pressed into the small of his back and heard a male voice tell him not to move. He turned around and saw a male pointing an older model black revolver at him. The female then searched his pockets and stole around $1700 in cash and his cell phones. Two additional subjects then exited a red Nissan Altima. These two subjects along with the female entered his vehicle, a red Ford Focus, and took off towards Augustine Street. The subject with the gun fled in the red Nissan. The female was described as a light skinned, black female in her early 20s, with long black hair tied in a low bun. She wore a long black jacket with buttons. The subject with the revolver was a skinny black male, in his mid-20s, approximately 5’7”, wearing blue jeans, and a black cotton jacket. One of the subjects from the red Nissan was a tall black male in his 30s with his face covered by a red and brown face mask. He wore a jean jacket and blue/white faded jeans. No description was provided on the fourth subject. Detectives are on the case.
On 2/27, a resident of Westwood Road received an email that he thought was from his supervisor at work. The email said that his boss was in a meeting but needed $500 in iTunes gift cards as soon as possible. The resident rushed over to the store, purchased the gift cards and sent the pin numbers to the email address. He then realized that although the email address account contained his supervisor’s name, it was not quite the same. He called his supervisor who confirmed that she never sent that email. The resident contacted Apple who was able to put a hold on the gift cards since they had not been redeemed. PRO TIP: This common scam is known as “CEO Fraud.” Always check the email address, confirm with the sender and never send pins or personal information unless you initiated the contact.
During the snow squall Thursday morning, Officer Patrick Bengston was dispatched to a hit-and-run accident on East Ramsdell Street. He arrived on scene and saw significant damage to the front concrete stairs of a residence. He walked across the street to the APT Foundation and was able to locate video surveillance of the accident. A 2000 – 2007 gray Ford Taurus lost control while driving southbound on East Ramsdell Street. The vehicle began to slide in the snow and rotated one hundred and eighty degrees before it collided backwards into the front steps of the residence. The vehicle then remained stationary for a few seconds before it fled, heading south towards Whalley Avenue.
BARNETT BURGLAR BUSTED BY DOORBELL CAM: On Friday night around 11 pm, two residents of Barnett Street were enjoying a quiet evening at home when they were alerted by motion on their Ring doorbell camera. They saw a male wearing a black pea coat, winter hat and large Adidas backpack attempting to enter their home through numerous doors. He walked into the vestibule of the home but not past the front door which was locked. The residents immediately contacted the police. Officer William Gargone was parked close by on Fountain Street and quickly arrived on scene to speak with the residents and watch the footage. He searched the surrounding area and located the subject walking on West Rock Avenue. He was arrested and charged with attempted burglary.
On 3/1, Officer David Simpson, Officer Christopher Stroscio, Officer John Truhart and Officer Gargone responded to a parking lot on Blake Street for the report of a suspicious vehicle. As the Officers approached the vehicle, they smelt a strong odor of marijuana. They searched the vehicle and found a Polo Sport satchel which contained a large amount of marijuana, a digital scale, small clear Ziploc baggies, and “Bob Marley Pure Hemp Rolling Papers.” None of the four occupants claimed ownership of the drugs. All were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession with the intent to sell.
On Saturday evening, police responded to a weapons complaint on Valley Street. A resident was driving on Valley Street and saw three males exit a store and start to cross the street. One of the pedestrians became angry when the driver didn’t yield and brandished a handgun in the direction of the resident. The subject with the gun was described as a Hispanic male around 20 years of age with a heavy build. The other two subjects were described as Hispanic or black males, with slim builds, also around 20 years old.