Leaving work at a downtown hookah lounge, a woman was forced into a car by a man who promised to drive her home.
He took her to a block away from her house in West Haven, and assaulted her.
That’s according to police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman. Here’s what he said happened:
At 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, the woman had just finished her shift at La Sheesh hookah lounge at 78 Church St. and was walking toward her car. Near the corner of Church and George streets, a dark grey sedan pulled up. The driver yelled her name. She stopped to see who he was.
“The operator got out, grabbed her around her waist and forced her into the car through the open driver’s door,” Hartman reported. “He pushed her to the passenger side causing her to hit her head. He jumped in and sped off. She recalled him saying ‘I’m going to drive you home.’”
The woman suspects the man was someone who had been at the hookah lounge earlier. He drove onto the interstate and headed south into West Haven. He assaulted her on West Main Street, then dropped her off a block away from her house.
She called the police, related her story, and was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for evaluation.
In other police news, according to Hartman:
Beating At Popeye’s: At 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Officers Richard Lawton and Gregory Pellicone responded to Popeye’s fried chicken restaurant on Whalley Avenue to investigate reports of a fight. They found several people in the parking lot standing around an unconscious Bridgeport man whose face was covered with blood.
Witnesses said the man had been waiting for a food order when he was jumped and beaten by three men without provocation.
The victim, when he came to, was unsure what had happened. He was taken by ambulance to Yale-New Haven Hospital where a CAT scan showed the injuries were not life threatening. He had a broken jaw and cuts to the head.
Assault/Robbery: At 10 p.m. on Saturday, Officer Armando Vale reported to Grand Avenue and Shelter Street, where someone had been robbed and shot. He found a man who had been hit in the right shoulder by a bullet. He told the cop he had left a store on Grand Avenue and walked west when three masked men approached him. One had a silver gun. The went through is pockets and one took some cash from his pants. The man broke free and fled. Then he heard shot and realized he’d been hit. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment.
Assault/Robbery: At 11:19 p.m. on Sunday, Officer Louis DeCrescenzo responded to a reported robbery at 291 Ferry St. A man told him he’d been confronted by a mixed-gender group of about 10 teens. He said he had been walking on Ferry Street near Exchange Street when he passed the group. Two teen boys doubled back after he passed. One struck him in the back of the head. When he turned, he was punched in the mouth. Another teen pulled a knife. They stole a $20 bill from his pants pocket.
The victim was treated by EMTs but declined further medical attention.
For block-by-block year-to-date crime info, and daily crime maps, check the Independent’s crime log.
