Bridgeport, CT – Feb. 26, 2013) – Detectives seized a loaded handgun and a significant quantity of cocaine as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.
Jorge Morales, 26, of 430 Harral Ave., was held on $100,000 bond on charges including possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1500 feet of a housing project, possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon.
Morales had been a target of the narcotics and vice unit, and a narcotics detective developed information Monday night that Morales had drugs in his car and was about to go out.
Narcotics investigators contacted members of the department’s Violent Crime Initiative and Morales was detained.
With the assistance of a narcotics sniffing dog, police located 45 grams of cocaine, two grams of heroin and nine grams of marijuana hidden in the car. Police received permission to search Morales’ house and recovered a .38-caliber revolver loaded with six bullets, 10 grams of marijuana and a stun gun.
Man Steals Wine, Breaks into Apartment, Threatens Medics–(Bridgeport, CT – Feb. 25, 2013) — A 20-year-old faces a variety of charges after he stole a bottle of wine from a bar, broke into a nearby apartment, threatened ambulance workers and then tried to escape from police. It all happened Saturday over the course of several hours. Officer Michael Salemme initially was called to a downtown bar at 5:45 p.m. where a bartender said a man, whom she wouldn’t serve, came behind the bar, grabbed a $20 bottle of wine and ran off. Police had responded to that report when, about an hour later, Officers Martin Pizighelli, Carlos Vazquez and Donald Bensey were called to the 600 block of Fairfield Avenue for a burglary-in-progress in an apartment building. Police spoke to the resident, who said he arrived home to find a man with facial piercings prone in his kitchen, a window smashed and blood on the floor. The resident grabbed the man and threw him into the hallway. Police were called. The description of the suspect, who fled the scene, matched that of the wine thief.
Not long after police arrived, the suspect, later identified as Dylan Vitti, had returned and was found on the fire escape of the Fairfield Avenue building. He was identified by the resident as the intruder and subsequently identified by an employee at the bar as the thief. While en route to the hospital for treatment for cuts to his leg and knuckles, which he apparently suffered while breaking into the apartment, Vitti made threats to the medics. At the hospital, he provided a variety of different names to police and medical staff. And after he was treated, Vitti tried to escape but only made it a few steps before an officer corralled him. Vitti was charged with sixth-degree larceny, second-degree burglary, second-degree threatening, interfering with police and criminal attempt at escape from custody. Vitti is believed to be homeless. His last known address was on Saber Lane in Stony Brook, N.Y.
Employee Assaulted at Gentleman’s Club–As we were first to report!
A woman was assaulted with a beer bottle Saturday at a strip club. Officers Ashley Taylor and Jose Paz were sent to Pleasant Moments Café. at 1 William St., on a report of an assault at 1 a.m. Saturday. Police found the victim, an 18-year-old employee, bleeding from the head and being tended to by other dancers in a dressing room. According to the victim, she brought a customer into a room for a private lap dance and when she finished he would not allow her leave, made sexual advances and began choking her. She managed to escape and ran out of the room. Before they fled, however, a second male, who was with the assailant, threw a beer bottle at her that struck the victim on the head. She was treated at the hospital for her injuries. No arrests have been made.
Burglary Investigated at Huntington Turnpike Business–Police are investigating a break-in at a Huntington Turnpike business. Officers Michael Davila and Juan Esquilin were sent to the Dollar Tree store Saturday morning on a report of an attempted break in. An employee there reported that someone had unsuccessfully tried to break into the store’s cash office by cutting through a wall from an adjacent, vacant storefront. While the officers investigated, the officers observed a hole in the sheet-metal roof inside the vacant space and a hole in the wall leading to a different business, Harbor Freight Tools, at 345 Huntington Turnpike. Officers spoke to the store manager, who had just arrived at the business, and discovered the wall had been breached to an office and that a safe containing three days worth of receipts had been cut open with some type of power tool. Detectives are investigating.
7:26pm–Police are at Sunnyridge Avenue condo/apartment complex where a suicidal man hit his girlfriend the head with a gun and threatened to harm her. He then barricaded himself in the apartment. He has registered to him two Glocks, and AR-15 and he also has 12 gauge pump shot gun. Taking no chances police called in the SWAT team and armored personnel carriers from Bridgeport to the scene. They also have evacuated residents in the complex and surrounding area. Police negotiators have been trying to contact the man by phone but he keeps hanging up on them. Ruger, Fairfield’s K-9 is about to be deployed.
UPDATE–Shot fired in the wooded area by High Street not the condo. Police saw a flash in the woods NOT in the condos. Unknown if he is on the run thermal imaging camera being used. Roll call in a moment to ensure everyone is ok.
UPDATE–Suspect took his own life.
Press Release From Fairfield Police:
On Saturday, February 23rd, 2013 at 7:24 pm, Fairfield Police were called to the scene of a barricaded subject in the Colonial Gardens Condominium Complex at 245 Sunnyridge Avenue.
Initial reports indicated a verbal domestic dispute ensued between a boyfriend and girlfriend inside the condo. The girlfriend retreated to a neighbor’s condo followed by Garni, she reported being threatened and requested police. The boyfriend, Douglas Garni (dob 7/1/72) who resided at 245 Sunnyridge Avenue Apt 23 retreated back toward his residence after learning police were called.
The first arriving officers interviewed the girlfriend and learned Garni had several weapons registered to him and they were inside the condo. A perimeter was set outside the condo awaiting the arrival of the Emergency Services Units. Bridgeport and Fairfield ESU, along with Fairfield and Norwalk Hostage Negotiators arrived on scene attempting to make contact with Garni.
Several nearby condos had to be evacuated and those residents were assisted by Fairfield Fire personnel. They were relocated to Station 2 for the duration of the incident. AMR and Fire personnel remained on scene and staged in the area of High Street and Raymond Drive in the event they were needed to provide medical assistance. The Fire Department also provided a heat seeking unit to enhance the ESU Teams capabilities.
For several hours negotiators attempted to make contact with Garni, by phone and audible PA systems to no avail. At approximately 11:00 pm, a single gunshot was heard from the wooded area just north of Garni’s condo. ESU members closed the perimeter searching the wooded area which quickly led to the discovery of Garni’s body. Preliminary reports indicate that he sustained a self inflicted gunshot wound.
The area remained an active crime scene until 2 am this morning until the scene could be processed by detectives and the State Medical Examiner’s office personnel concluded their at-scene investigation. If any additional information develops over the course of the day we will make that available to you.
AOL seems to be radically changing its plans for Patch, it’s network of local news sites. We’ve heard from insiders that the division is pivoting away from a human editor centric model, toward one where local sites (“Patches”) are built to be content-sharing and community-organizing tools for their areas. In other words less editors writing for more sites. Business Insider has the full story here…….
Mayor Bill Finch will join Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra to introduce Vice President Joe Biden at a conference on gun violence to be held on Thursday at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.
“I’m very honored to stand together with First Selectman Llodra to introduce the Vice President at tomorrow’s gun violence conference at WestConn. I want to applaud the bold steps President Obama and Vice President Biden are taking to enact the most sweeping changes in gun legislation in more than 40 years. The tragedy in Newtown touched everyone’s hearts. Now is the time to demand a plan that will make our children – in the suburbs and on the streets of our cities safer. Thank you to Senators Blumenthal and Murphy and Rep. Esty for their leadership in putting together this important program focusing on reducing gun violence, and mental health and school safety initiatives.”
Branch Manager John Wrobel of Nelson Ambulance on Nobel Avenue tells us that the City of Bridgeport abandoned five ambulances during the storm. John tells us that he made about fifteen to twenty phone calls to have Nobel Avenue cleared so they could resume their services. The ambulance service had to resort to hiring a private contractor . There were five ambulances and five chair cars out of a fleet of nineteen that do one hundred to one hundred and thirty calls a day. They were unable to provide services out of their Bridgeport branch. Nobel Avenue wasn’t plowed until Tuesday according to Wrobel, he came out t speak at the city council meeting but time ran out before he could speak. A city worker seen at the end of the video shouted to us this wasn’t true but you can see he was vigorously debating this. Other city officials talked to Wrobel after our interview but he did not get to speak at the meeting. “We totally neglected” Wrobel said.
Citizens from all walks of life shared their thoughts on how the city handled the snow removal during the Blizzard of 2013. The meeting ran over the hour allotted time and was extended another half hour. It appears most views were shared as there was no opposition as the city council moved into their meeting without objection after the half hour extension. I’ve condensed the two and a half hour discussion to under ten minutes. It was very apparent everyone’s ideas were very well thought out and worth consideration.
When a young woman accidentally hit a deer with her vehicle on Webb Circle last month, her father asked police if he could take the roadkill home for dinner — a scenario that Monroe Animal Control Officer Edward Risko says is not at all unusual. “It’s pretty common,” he said. “It’s one of the options. We can sign it off to a passing motorist or to the driver who struck the deer.” The Monroe Patch has the full story here…..
Editorial–As Fairfield’s Random Act of Kindness program declared by First Selectman Tetreau winds down, I hope our act of kindness is to give the Fairfield Police a half way decent contract. The police in Fairfield have served in TWO hurricanes a blizzard, and were one of the first on scene in Newtown to give support without a contract.
I have to ask why is Fairfield anti union? They strung the firefighters out on their contract for a long time, heck even the nurses union. Fairfield has a proven track record of being anti-union, from the First Selectman Tetreau to a lot of members on the RTM. Forget a pay raise, did you know that the Fairfield Police haven’t had a cost of living increase since 2009? Give them a half way decent health care plan, we count on their well being to protect us. Contact First Selectman Tetreau at FirstSelectmanFFld@town.fairfield.ct.us or call him at 203-256-3030. You can find your RTM members here
The press jumped all over Republican Governor in Michigan for being anti-union. Is this another media double standard because Fairfield is Democratic?
On February 14, 2013 at 1:48 PM the Fairfield Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a fire in a room at Congregation Beth El on Fairfield Woods Road. In addition to the initial 911 caller, a police officer on patrol in the area also reported seeing heavy smoke coming from the roof of the building. Initial arriving fire personnel found a natural gas fed HVAC unit on fire on the roof of the building which created a moderate smoke condition inside the building. All students were evacuated from the school and were kept in a safe location along with teachers in accordance with the schools emergency plan prior to the Fire Department’s arrival. Due to the time of day, students were dismissed directly to their parents care in front of the building without incident. Fire personnel shut off the gas to the building and controlled the fire which was contained to the roof top unit. Additional firefighters checked the inside of the building for fire extension and any possible victims remaining inside the building. Fire personnel also ensured that all religious artifacts and precious documents were protected during the fire.
Assistant Chief Scott Bisson stated, “The school did an excellent job in exercising their fire evacuation plan which allowed them to account for each child outside of the school and kept the kids safely away from the school so firefighters could do their work.”
The building was not significantly damage and was able to be occupied immediately after the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Fairfield Fire Marshall’s office but appears to be accidental in nature related to weather conditions. The flames were coming from a broken gas pipe connected to the HVAC unit on the roof. Southern Connecticut Gas was called to the scene to assist with securing the equipment. Fairfield Woods Road was shut down for approx. 20 minutes during the fire although parents were allowed to the front of the building to pick up children from school staff. Twenty people were evacuated for approximately 1 hour and there were no reported injuries. Four engines, two ladders, the Shift Commander and Safety Officer responded to this incident. The last fire unit cleared the scene at 3:02 PM
