At first, a man on Townsend Avenue thought he heard a car backfiring. Then a bullet came through his window and hit his refrigerator.
Some quick police work convinced the shooter to turn himself in hours later.
Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman:
At 9:34 a.m. Tuesday, Officer Michael Ostigney responded to 908 Townsend Ave. to investigate a report of gunfire. A man told him that he had been at home when he thought he heard a car backfire. He looked out a window and saw a man shooting the cars parked in his driveway. The shooter turned his gun on the house, too. At least one bullet went through a window — lodging in the icebox — before the shooter drove off.
With the help of Sgt. Vincent Anastasio and Officer Mike Ortiz, police determined the identity of the shooter, contacted him, and convinced him to turn himself in later that day at a home on Lexington Ave. The 21-year-old man was charged with reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal mischief, and carrying a pistol without a permit.
In other police news, according to Hartman:
Would-Be Purse-Nabber Nabbed: At 11:18 a.m. on Tuesday, a woman flagged down officers at Ferry Street and Saltonstall Avenue and told them a young man had just tried to snatch her purse. He had grabbed her handbag, struggled with her, and punched her in the face when she refused to let go. She was able to flee and find police. Neighbors told police they saw the perpetrator fleeing. Then a a woman on Wolcott Street screamed out that someone was trying to break into her home. Cops heard the screams and saw a young man fleeing her porch. After a short chase, police caught a 20-year-old who the purse-holder identified as her attacker. He was charged with attempted robbery, attempted larceny, assault, and trespassing.
9 Warrants: When Officer Robert DuPont pulled over a 30-year-old man on the Boulevard on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., he found the guy had nine outstanding warrants. Most of them were for failing to appear, along with second-degree assault and probation violation. He was arrested.
Shooting: At 7:39 p.m. Tuesday night, ShotSpotter indicated 7 shots were fired in the rear of 275 Division St. Police responded and began to search the area. Moments later Yale police reported that a man who had been shot five times had been driven to Yale Health Services on Lock St. He was taken by ambulance from there to Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Dinner Preparations: Police responded to a domestic dispute on Clinton Avenue Tuesday and found a wife had stabbed her husband in the knee during an argument over dinner preparations. The man refused medical attention for his injury, which was not severe. After investigation, police charged the husband, a 46-year-old man, with disorderly conduct. They charged the 44-year-old wife with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault.
Crime Map
Click here for a list of major crimes for Oct. 18. Click on the image below to see those incidents placed on a citywide map.
NHPD
For block-by-block year-to-date crime information, plus daily crime maps, check out the Independent’s Crime Log.
