Police arrested a 24-year-old alleged New Haven drug dealer on charges of beating and robbing one of his customers.
The arrest occurred Wednesday evening.
Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman:
A 43-year-old Branford man told police he’d been walking around the Church Street South federally subsidized housing complex around 3 p.m. when “he spotted a familiar Nissan Muran following him. He said the car belonged to someone he’s bought drugs from in the past.”
The Branford man made it across the street to the nearby Yale School of Nursing when the dealer and three other men who’d been in the Nissan caught up with him. They “pistol-whipped him with a semi-automatic handgun” and “kicked and punched him.” They made off with the victim’s cell phone and $20 in cash.
“A passing motorist spotted the robbery and beeped his horn. The sound was apparently enough to scare off the attackers, who ran into a nearby public housing complex,” according to Hartman.
The victim later spoke with detectives and identified a photo of the dealer. During that interview, the dealer happened to get in a car accident — and was arrested at the scene on assault, robbery and larceny charges.
Is there still any possibility that Church St South will get redeveloped anytime soon? This is the gateway to New Haven, directly across the street from Union Station, and the first thing people see when they arrive in New Haven.
Jan 2012: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/church_street_south_northland/
Feb 2013: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/state_of_the_city/
Feb 2013: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/60_church_street_apartments_fail_inspection/