New Haven Independent

The roundup, called Operation Green Sweep, set out to clear the central downtown space of illicit activity before the holiday season. Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer Joe Avery:

Police got several reports that people were dealing drugs on the New Haven Green. The narcotics squad set up an investigation there during September, October, and November.

After extensive surveillance, detectives found out that the reports were true. Large numbers of “transient and indigent people” gather during the day on park benches in the green. Surveillance revealed that the people act as “runners” or middle-men between dealers and drug users. The runners would keep small amounts of drugs for sale, and many would sell prescription medication to drug buyers, police said.

Detectives sent informants to buy crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, oxycodone, Percocet, methadone and Xanax. They obtained 16 arrest warrants for those who allegedly sold the drugs. By Friday, they had made six arrests. Many of the wanted suspects have criminal records involving larceny, burglary, shoplifting, prescription drug fraud, robbery, and narcotic offense.

Operation Green Sweep set out to ensure that the green could be returned to its “intended use” as a public meeting place, Avery said. The operation was timed to precede the holiday season, when more pedestrians will come downtown.

Cops: Driver Hid Gun

As a driver stepped out of his car, he tried to kick a gun under his seat, police said.

Here’s what happened, according to Avery:

At 10 p.m. on Thursday, Officers Chris Senior and Justin Marshall were conducting a motor vehicle investigation at the corner of Sherman Avenue and Maple Street. Senior noticed the butt of a gun sticking out from under the driver’s seat. As the cops removed the 22-year-old driver from the car, he tried to kick the gun under his seat with the heel of his foot.

The officers put the driver in the back of the cruiser and checked under the seat. They found a fully loaded 9mm Glock 19 and 16 bags of marijuana.

In other police news, according to Avery:

Police found 16 shell casings at the corner of Goodyear and West Read Streets on Thursday at 8:42 p.m. Neighbors reported property damage caused by gun shots.

At 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, four men mugged someone at the corner of Court and Olive Streets. Two of the muggers had handguns. They took a cellphone and a black wallet with $25.

Two cars were broken into at the Quinnipiac Club, at 221 Church St. on Thursday night. Thieves stole GPS systems and cell phones.

Updates

Police are no longer investigating last week’s disappearance of a 13-year-old, Avery said. After she was located in New York, police categorized her case as a runaway, not as a missing person.

Avery said police investigating a report of a possible abduction this week have found nothing to support such a claim. The owner of the blue Toyota Camry was located, and there was no evidence of an abduction, Avery said. It may have been a prank call, he said.

Crime Map

Click here for a list of major crimes for Thursday, Nov. 12. Click on the image below to see those crimes placed on a citywide map.

For block-by-block year-to-date crime information, check the Independent’s Crime Log.