A hunt for an emotionally disturbed man on an alleged theft spree ended safely, and in an arrest.
Officer David Hartman issued the following write-up about the incident:
At 2:26 a.m., the sister of an allegedly emotionally disturbed New Haven man, phoned police to report he was out of control and needed hospitalization.
Officers Thomas Blaisdell and Caitlin Zarella spoke with the man’s roommates at their University Place apartment. They said they last saw him a day ago, adding he appeared agitated and disheveled. They didn’t know where he was.
The man’s sister lives in Harriman, N.Y. She said she was surprised he’d arrived unannounced at her home. She said he had been diagnosed with manic depression, is bipolar and suffers from extreme anxiety. She said he started yelling about the devil. He spoke about killing people and said he was God. She said he admitted he’d stopped taking prescribed medicines. He told her he hadn’t slept in days. She said his lips were cracked and he appeared dehydrated.
The man’s sister said there was a woman in the car. Before leaving with this woman, she said he threw “Holy Water” on her car and smashed the windows with a rock. She said the two took off. The car, a black Honda Civic, had Texas plates. She phoned the New York State Police and told them she thought he’d likely head back to New Haven. She was right.
New York authorities issued a wanted person broadcast for the man for the vandalism but had not regarded him as an endangered person.
Monday afternoon, Officer Brendan Canning had been dispatched to a robbery complaint at Walgreens on the 400 block of Whalley Avenue.
A 29-year-old Northford woman was in the store in the refrigerated foods aisle. She could hear a commotion -– someone talking loudly and using expletives. She said the man approached her, punched her in the face and took the wallet from her hand. A witness said the man was yelling, “White Devil” over and over. They told Canning the man fled from the store, got behind the wheel of a black Honda Civic and took off.
Both victim and witness described the man as a dark complexioned black man, about five-foot-nine, thin and in his mid-20s. They said he sported a “ragged” looking beard.
As detectives arrived, a theft on Central Avenue was reported. A short time after that, a vandalism complaint came in from folks on Sherman Avenue. The descriptions given by the complainants for the perp and his vehicle were very similar to that of the Walgreens crook –- and spot-on for the emotionally disturbed person who’d visited his sister in Harriman, New York.
Officer Paul Mandell handled the Sherman Avenue complaint. During his investigation, he found the Walgreens’ victim’s stuff. They were looking for the same person.
Monday evening’s patrol Shift Commander was Lt. Stephan Torquati. He put together an impromptu task force to find this guy before he did any more harm. Sgt. Derek Werner, Officers Brandon Way, Jonathan Caron, Justin Roselle and Jonathan Castellano were tapped for the task.
Officers Joshua Castellano and Jonathan Caron were assigned to that group. Armed with a BOLO for criminal charges by Officer Canning and as an endangered person by Officers Blaisdell and Zarella, they set out to find him. They checked the areas of the city frequented by the man as well as any past known addresses.
Castellano acquired the phone number of another of the man’s sister. Moments after she told him she appreciated the call but hadn’t seen him, she called the officer back in a panic. She said her brother was at his girlfriend’s Dover Street home and was in a heated argument with her and her brother. The sister said it “didn’t sound good.”
As officers raced there, the girlfriend’s brother got on the phone with police as he followed the crazed man.
Dispatchers radioed the cops he was last seen passing the McDonalds on Foxon Boulevard. Officer Ameer Williams spotted the car in traffic. Officer Castellano got behind the wanted man. He made a quick U‑turn and the pursuit was on. Lt. Torquati monitored the officers’ speed and actions. The man was wanted for a felony assault.
Oddly, as much as it was evident the man was trying to elude the increasing number of officers, he drove mainly below the speed limit. Disregarding the cruisers’ warning lights and siren, the man turned north onto Middletown Avenue and then on to Interstate Highway 91, north.
At about 45 miles per hour, the man continued until Exit 9. He got off, then back on till exit twelve. He looped around and headed back the way he came, toward New Haven. State Troopers and area towns’ cops were notified.
The man then “slammed on the brakes” and made another U‑turn – this time heading against traffic. The officers didn’t follow him but observed him as he drove without regard for the safety of other motorists.
The man made it back to Route 34. State troopers were covering the exits. Stop-sticks weren’t effective. Attempts to box him in were futile. Eventually, the man got bogged down in jammed traffic around Exit 2 from I‑91 south. Officers were then able to remove the man from his vehicle and take him into custody.
Officer Luis Rivera was now within radio range of Castellano and provided him with information from the man’s girlfriend’s brother. He told them before officers located the man on Middletown Avenue, he’d gotten out of the Honda, walked to the car behind his, which was occupied by a woman and her young daughter. The man asked the driver for fifteen dollars. She refused. The man threw a brick through the window, which struck her face. The man went back to his car. The woman went to the hospital – thankfully, not seriously hurt.
The investigation, which is still ongoing, was recorded on the perp’s phone. Cops took a look and are submitting the content as evidence.
Thus far, the 30-year-old has been charged with assault in the first degree, reckless endangerment, interfering with police, engaging police in pursuit and criminal mischief second degree.
Lt. Torquati expressed high praises for the officers and Troopers involved. “Safety, coupled with the apprehension of a dangerous man were of vital importance”, he said. “The efforts of Connecticut State Police Sgt. Aiken and Troopers Dorelus, Mansfield and Thomas were instrumental in the apprehension of this man.” Torquati said, “I am proud those involved used common sense and didn’t allow the exigency of the circumstances to lend to any poor choices.”
The arrestee will not be named until the cases are fully investigated. That includes those several by the CSP and perhaps those of other jurisdictions as well. There are open complaints at this point, warranting further investigation. To identify him could jeopardize the case(s).
The man was on more than a theft spree. He was robbing and assaulting and battering people.