DoingItLocal

(Bridgeport, CT  — Aug. 19, 2013) – A 32-year-old woman was held on $75,000 bond after  gunfire and a police chase.  Lt. William Bailey and Officer Gerald Lavin were in the 500 block of Trumbull Avenue Saturday when they observed a car pull up a block away. A male got out of the car and fired numerous shots before jumping back into the car and fleeing.

The driver, later identified as Amelia Rhodes, of Bridgeport, sped off, nearly striking the police vehicle, and led police on a chase. She crashed in the area of Chopsey Hill Road and Summit Street. Both occupants fled on foot, including the male passenger who fled while still holding the gun. He eluded police.

Officers Jeffrey Long, Jeremy Kelly and Adam Rozum responded to the area and began searching for the female driver. They heard the sound of branches breaking as if someone  was running through a wooded area and then a splash.  The three officers waded waste deep into a creek and, after a search, observed the soles of two sneakers inside a concrete drainage pipe.

The officers ordered Rhodes to come out. She wiggled out and was arrested. Bond was set at $75,000 on a series of motor vehicle and criminal charges.

The incident remains under investigation.

2:12am–#Fairfield CT–3 cartons of cigarettes were taken from the Walgreen’s on Villa Avenue by a male who fled in a yellow work/utility van. Not sure if it is yellow from the nicotine…….

2:13am–#Bridgeport–A woman was just pistol shipped and robbed in the 200 block of Maplewood Avenue.  The victim was robbed of her money and hit in the head with the gun.

1:17am–#Shelton CT–A pedestrian was hit by a car near the Cumberland Farms on Route 110 River Road.  Witnesses said it was a black Chevy Trailblazer that fled towards Stratford.

12:39am–#Bridgeport CT–A Dominoes deliveryman was on Colony Street (Off Boston Ave. by the cemetery).  Taken was his cellphone, $40 in cash and a pizza.  No word if any weapons were displayed.

(BRIDGEPORT, CT August 19, 2013) – Mayor Bill Finch, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Schools Superintendent Paul G. Vallas joined a host of local, state and federal dignitaries, in a large crowd of parents, students and supporters today to celebrate the grand opening of the Fairchild Wheeler Magnet High School, the first new high school built in the City in 50 years.

“The opening of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet Campus represents a transitional moment for Bridgeport and for the entire country,” said Mayor Finch as he addressed the crowd of nearly 500 people gathered in front of the school’s main entrance. “We have gone from three high schools in Bridgeport to seven, thanks to the opening of this new campus. This school will provide unprecedented curriculum in fields that are critical to the future of our nation. We need more engineers; we need more information technology and we need more scientists fighting climate change.”

The Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet Campus is set to welcome its first two classes of students at the end of August. The new school features an advanced science-technology focus and has been built to exacting standards which should net it the LEED Gold designation from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Mayor Finch championed the building of this school, which originally was slated to be built on parkland located in Trumbull. After months of negotiations, Mayor Finch was able to work with the State Legislature and Governor Malloy to come to an historic agreement to redraw the city boundaries to move the property into Bridgeport and propel the project forward.

The new $126 million state-of-the-art school – the largest and most ambitious school infrastructure project in Connecticut history – is the most environmentally friendly school in the state. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified the building will get close to 120kW of power from 10 wind turbines and solar panels. It has a green roof design and its construction includes eco-friendly building materials with energy-efficient mechanical systems. The completed landscaping will use native vegetation and 76% of the site will be maintained as open space.

This hi-tech school, which in itself will be a teaching and learning tool for students and staff, will offer a 21st century STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) project-based curriculum focusing on three areas: Information Technology, Biotechnology/Zoological science and Physical Science, Math and Aerospace/Hydrospace Engineering. Partnerships with the three area universities will provide significant opportunities for students to acquire college credits. Seven hundred fifty (750) students in grades 9-10 will attend the school when it opens later this month. Seventy percent (70%) of the students will come from Bridgeport and the other 30% will come from the surrounding communities of Trumbull, Fairfield, Shelton, Stratford, Easton/Redding, Monroe and Milford.

Special thanks to Council President Thomas McCarthy for providing these photos.

12:29am–#Bridgeport CT–Firefighters called to 100 Atlantic Street for a reported structure fire.  Firefighters on scene nothing visible from the street.

12:22am–#Bridgeport CT–Firefighters on the way to Nobel Avenue and Edna Avenue  that requires firefighters to cut the driver out of the car.  The striking car, a white car with Ohio plates fled the scene at a high rate of speed.  Police attempted pursue the fleeing car but broke it off due to high speeds.

(Bridgeport, CT  — Aug. 19, 2013) – Three women face charges after an early morning dispute Sunday at a gathering on Remington Street.

Officer Mathew  Szymczak responded to the 300 block of Remington Street at about 2:30 a.m. on a report of shots fired. The alleged victim told police that she had invited the three suspects to her apartment for the evening but after an argument tried to usher them out.

One of the guests, Kiiarah Sharpe, 20, of Waterbury, informed the victim that she would leave when she felt like leaving. The situation turned physical altercation when the victim put her hands on Sharpe to usher her out and Sharpe attacked her.

After the incident began, the victim’s brother woke up and came to his sister’s assistance. He was pushing the three women outside where the scuffle continued and Sharpe called out to one of the other women “to go get your gun.” According to the victims, one of other women, Octavia Jordan, 23, of Waterbury, retrieved her handgun, racked it and pointed it at the victims but did not fire any shots.
The victims fled inside.

Szymczak issued a radio broadcast for the vehicle and as he was leaving he spotted the car on Boston Avenue. He pulled over the car and ordered the occupants to show their hands out the window.

He, Sgt. Louis Cortello and Officer Michael Davila, removed the three occupants from the vehicle and inquired whether there was a weapon inside.

Jordan said she had a licensed gun in the glove compartment, which police recovered along with ammunition in a plastic bag.

Police checked all three for warrants and found none.

Jordan was charged with second-degree threatening, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct and held on $10,000 bond. Sharpe was charged with third-degree assault, third-degree strangulation and disorderly conduct, and her bond was set at $5,000. The third occupant, Taquana Hendricks, 20, of Bridgeport, was charged with disorderly conduct. Her bond was set at $500.