A 32-year-old man flown to New Haven to sell magazines door-to-door ended up burglarizing some homes, until a shoeless victim and an off-duty cop decided to chase him.
The chase took place Monday morning. Let police spokesman Officer David Hartman tell the tale:
“At 9 a.m., 21 year old William Genova awoke to his alarm clock sounding. As his eyes opened, he spotted a man sitting at the desk in his bedroom. The man was holding his laptop computer in one hand and was unplugging it from the wall outlet with his other.
“Genova said he questioned the man who walked out of his room after putting down the computer. He said he went after him and confronted him at the apartment entrance. He asked the burglar if he’d taken anything from his apartment. The crook said, ‘No,’ and told Genova to let him leave, or face violent consequences.
“Although shoeless, Genova chased after the perpetrator over several fences and through back yards ending up at Dwight Street via the Marriott Hotel parking lot. Genova said he was yelling for someone to call the police as he pursued the perpetrator.
“Soon the man stopped running. He told the victim he had taken nothing. He gave the victim a duffle bag to prove none his belongings were inside. The victim emptied it out on the ground. As he did so, he saw off duty New Haven Police Officer Chad Curry nearby. Officer Curry was on his way home after working the midnight shift and was still in his uniform.
“Officer Curry went over to Genova and the burglar. The burglar didn’t want anything to do with meeting Officer Curry and took off again. Officer Curry apprehended [the suspect]. [The suspect] fought with the officer and was pepper sprayed. He is a convicted felon from Pennsylvania with a long history of robberies and burglaries he’s committed across the country.
“During a post-arrest interview with detectives, [he] admitted to another burglary in the same building. [He] told detectives he is originally from the Virgin Islands. He said he’d been flown to New Haven from Kansas City by a company he sold magazine subscriptions for. He said he’s only been here since Friday after the company abandoned him here.
The suspect “was forthcoming with information including that he’d been let into the building by a woman. He said he’d checked doors to each of the apartments to see if any were left unlocked. He admitted to burglarizing a fifth floor apartment on Saturday. There, he said he stole a laptop computer. He said he’d cased the building because he knew students resided there.
“It was later determined that $40.00 had been taken from the victim’s desk.”
The suspect “was charged with burglary 2nd, criminal attempt to commit Larceny 4th, larceny 6th, threatening and assault on a police officer.
“Both the New Haven and Yale University Police departments are looking into [his] possible connection to other crimes.”