A burglary inside an unlocked Cleveland Road garage, a suspicious check sent to Fountain Street, and a theft of a running car left unattended on West Hill Road led to a series of “professional tips” from a top cop.
The top cop, West Hills/Westville/West Rock/Beverly Hills/Amity District Manager Lt. Rose Dell, offered those tips as part of her weekly write-up of notable police calls.
Her latest write-up follows:
FROM 3/23/19 to 3/30/19 POLICE RESPONDED TO 146 CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE WESTVILLE/WEST HILLS SECTION OF NEW HAVEN. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF NOTABLE INCIDENTS:
On 3/24, a resident of Cleveland Road reported that he went into his garage in the morning and found the door open. His wife’s vehicle was entered and some loose change, an iphone charger and a pair of women’s gloves were stolen. The garage door had been unlocked. PRO TIP: This is the second incident in the area where a garage door was left open and a car was burglarized. Please remember to lock all doors around your homes.
A resident of Fountain Street received a check in the mail for $2,490 along with a letter that said the company wished to hire her as a personal assistant after they viewed her resume on Indeed.com. Officer Paul Mandel advised the resident that the check was part of scam that could be used to obtain her checking account and routing number. PRO TIP: Do not be conned by fake check scams. Never deposit a check from someone you don’t know.
On Sunday morning, a resident of West Hills Road left her vehicle running in the driveway while she went into the house for around five minutes to tend to her children. When she went back outside, her vehicle was missing. PRO TIP: It takes seconds to steal a car. Never leave your vehicle running, unlocked and unattended.
Monday evening a black Kia Optima pulled into the driveway of the firehouse on Fountain Street. An unknown male opened his window and threw a number of Ziploc bags onto the driveway. The bags contained flyers with anti-government propaganda. Other firehouses across the city received similar deliveries.
On 3/36, a resident of Curtis Drive heard her car alarm go off at around 9:30 am. She grabbed the car keys, looked outside and shut the car alarm. A short time later, she went outside and noticed that the front passenger side door of the vehicle was open, and there were various items strewn about the interior. She did not notice anything missing and could not remember if the doors had been locked.
On Monday evening, Officer Thomas Testa was flagged down while on patrol in the area of Yale Avenue. A witness said she saw the front door of a residence on West Rock Avenue was wide open and heard the alarm going off. She then saw two men wearing all black carry boxes from the house and load them into a black, American made pickup truck. The homeowner informed the Officer that the boxes contained a new GE dishwasher and microwave. The burglars made entry through a basement door that they forced open. Detectives responded and are on the case.
On Saturday night at around 1 am, Officer Samantha Romano was patrolling the motels in the area. She saw a female idling in a vehicle at the Three Judges Motel. She approached the driver who said she was waiting for her boyfriend to rent a room. Officer Romano smelled a strong odor of marijuana, and the driver admitted to smoking in the car while she waited for her boyfriend. A bag of marijuana was found in the vehicle. The operator was arrested for drug possession and trespass.