Month: January 2014

Here is the police report on the call we reported live as it was happening:

#Bridgeport, CT – Jan. 21, 2014 – Five people were arrested Saturday after a report of shots fired on Maplewood Avenue.

Police responded to 220 Maplewood Ave. Saturday night on a report of shots fired in the rear yard and received information through the 911 center that one of the people involved might live in the basement apartment of that house.

Officers Joseph Cruz, Adam Roscoe and Todd Sherback entered the rear yard, announced their presence and saw the basement door ajar.

Sgts. Bradford Seeley and Sean Lynch also arrived.

Police opened the door and announced their presence again. They observed Robert Melvins, 43, of that address, in a shadowed area of the basement and detained him. When asked, he stated there was no one else in the basement. A moment later, Gary Alson, 43, of Stamford, and two 17-year-olds emerged from a bedroom. They also were detained.

Seeley, Lynch and Roscoe then entered the basement and found Tajvon Ferris, 19, of Bridgeport, hiding.

Inside the apartment, police recovered a 9mm pistol and what appeared to be crack cocaine.

Melvins gave this account of events: He was giving a haircut in the basement to an unknown male, who he believed was Jamaican. The man was dissatisfied with the quality of the haircut, which led to a physical altercation. During the struggle, Melvins said, a gun fell from the pocket of the unknown Jamaican male. Another person picked up the gun and held it until the two people were separated and then returned the gun to the unknown male. The man left and that’s when Melvins said he heard gunfire outside.

Mevlins also stated that the same male left the recovered 9 mm pistol about five weeks earlier and asked him to “hold” it for him.

Everyone in the apartment was charged with narcotics related offenses. Melvins additionally was charged with criminal possession of a firearm.

#Bridgeport, CT – Jan. 22, 2014 – A 41-year-old man reported losing or having stolen his 9 mm pistol over the weekend.

The man told Officer Frank Delbouno that he was doing “private security” work at a teen party for a man he only knew as “James.” He could only state that he had met James “around the block.”

The man stated the he was providing security at a Maplewood Avenue teen party. His job was to ensure no weapons were brought into the party. He estimated that at about 3 a.m. he stood up from his chair and that his gun must have fallen. He reported the gun missing Tuesday, three days after it went missing.