nothin New Haven Independent | Delivery Man Lives To Tell the Tale

Delivery Man Lives To Tell the Tale

Two would-be burglars arrived in Branford in a pick-up truck, getting off the ramp on I‑95 and onto Cedar Street, the town’s main entrance, shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday.

They parked their truck in a small lot outside a condo unit on NorthMain Street, across the street from Dunkin Donuts. The idea was to come via Exit 54 and to leave via Exit 54.

But then they came upon a series of events that upended their plans. One was captured, arrested and charged with 10 felonies. One escaped. Here is what happened, according to the police:

After they parked their pick-up, the two men crossed North Main Street. Their purpose, police said, was to break into the Dunkin Donuts shop at 112 North Main. They quickly did the deed, seized a drop safe and began to pry it open. They got some cash, took the safe and left.

But as they fled, they came upon an unexpected situation. A deliveryman had arrived and was standing outside the shop. 

So they detained him for a short time though it is not clear how. Police said the burglars didn’t quite know what to do with him. They did not search him. If they had, they would have found his smart phone. They just let him go. He was not harmed, police said.

The burglars reasoned they needed to run. So after letting the deliveryman go free, they fled, holding the safe tightly. They raced to their pick-up truck parked across the street. 

Once free, the deliveryman reached for his smart phone and dialed 911. The cops, out on special detail, were nearby. 

Sgt. John Alves was a few minutes away when the 911 call came in. He is part of an extra-contingent of police officers who have been assigned to investigate a continuing series of burglaries in various parts of town. 

Alves saw the pick-up truck leaving the condo parking lot directly across from Dunkin Donuts.

As he attempted to stop the truck, the two suspects jumped out, running in opposite directions on North Main Street.

Sgt. Alves pursued and captured Rogerio L. Lopes, 31, who lives at 433 North Terrace Ave. in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Lopes was arrested on 11 separate charges – 10 felonies and one misdemeanor. The charges include conspiracy to commit unlawful restraint in the first degree; that is, detaining the deliveryman. This is a class D felony.

He was arraigned in New Haven Superior Court on Monday and was held in custody on $75,000 bond. His next court date is April 14. 

Police recovered the Donut shop’s stolen safe in the truck along with cash from the business that had been discarded by Lopes as he fled.

The department’s police dog, Neeko, was called to the scene in an attempt to locate the second suspect. Neeko and a team of police officers conducted a lengthy search, but the second suspect was not found.

Police also reported that a car window at the Subaru auto dealer on Ivy Street had been smashed, perhaps by the second man who was in need of transportation. However, there were no keys in the car.

Police said the second suspect might well have sought cover in the woods near Ivy Street. He, too, probably used his smart phone to get someone to pick him up.

Chief Kevin Halloran commented on the arrest: The officers did an excellent job capturing Rogerio Lopes, and we are grateful the deliveryman was released unharmed. I’m confident that investigators will learn the identity of the second suspect and he will eventually be arrested as well.”

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