On 04/22/17, at approximately 1825 hours, Troopers assigned to Troop “G”, Bridgeport, were on a traffic stop on I-95, northbound, at Exit #27. They had stopped a vehicle, which was operated by Robert W. Bowens (DOB: 08/08/83) of 1147 Ogden Street Extension in Bridgeport. Upon conducting a consented motor vehicle search, Troopers found several illegal items contained within the vehicle. At that time, Troopers gave Mr. Bowens verbal commands in order to detain him. Upon hearing this, Mr. Bowens attempted to flee. Troopers gave chase and during this chase, they attempted to deploy a “taser” on Mr. Bowens, however, it was ineffective. An intense struggle ensued on the highway and at some point during this struggle, Mr. Bowens produced a firearm in the close quarters. Troopers fought to control his arm holding the firearm. After a long struggle, they were able to knock the firearm from Mr. Bowens’ control. At some point during the struggle, Bowens’ family members arrived on scene and were yelling at the troopers during the fight. Mr. Bowens was then able to break free and jump into a grey Infiniti SUV, assumed to being operated by his family members, which then attempted to drive the wrong way down I-95, northbound, at the Exit #27 on-ramp, where they were met by backup troopers arriving on scene. The vehicle then changed direction and once again drove the wrong way onto the Route 8, southbound, Exit #1 connector to I-95 northbound. Mr. Bowens was able to escape as they drove northbound in the southbound flyover of Route 8. Troopers received minor abrasions due to their struggle with Mr. Bowens. The investigation remained ongoing and several different jurisdictions assisted with attempting to locate the accused.
On 05/09/17, at approximately 0720 hours, in the area of Pearl Harbor Street in Bridgeport, the culminating efforts of multiple agencies attempting to locate Mr. Bowens paid off and he was subsequently taken into custody without incident. He was transported to Bridgeport PD and later, to Troop “G”, Bridgeport, for processing. He was charged with two counts of Criminal Attempt Assault I, two counts of Assaulting a Police Officer, Reckless Driving, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Weapons in a Motor Vehicle, Possessing a Pistol Without a Permit, Criminal Possession of Ammunition and Criminal Possession of an Electronic Defense Weapon. Mr. Bowens is a convicted felon. Based on those charges, there is a court set bond of $500,000. In addition, there were two Violation of Probation Warrants, each with a $100,000 court set bond, that were also processed. Mr. Bowens could not post the $700,000 bond and was remanded into custody for arraignment at Bridgeport Superior Court later this morning.
The combined efforts of all the participating law enforcement agencies in attempting to locate this subject needs to be recognized and commended. Arrest made with assistance of U.S. Marshal led Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force.
(Connecticut State Police Press Release)
