Photo Credit MM
New Haven Police Make Gun and Stolen Car Arrests
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Throughout the past year, New Haven has experienced a spike in motor vehicle thefts. As of November 8th, New Haven Police crime analysts have reported that 570 vehicles have been reported stolen in the city of New Haven, a 1.7% increase from 2019. This spike in motor vehicle thefts is not exclusive to New Haven as surrounding towns and cities have also experienced an increase. Many of these motor vehicle thefts are a crime of opportunity; with victims leaving their vehicles unsecure, often with the keys left inside of the vehicle and the engine running.
On Friday, November 20th, at approximately 9:30 am, the National Insurance Crime Bureau called into the New Haven Police Department and reported that there were several stolen vehicles in the area of Greenwood Street, located in the Hill North Section of the City.
Officer Christopher Lawrence canvassed the area and located one of these vehicles, a 2015 Black Ford Fusion parked in front of 25-27 Greenwood Street. Officer Lawrence confirmed that the Ford Fusion had been stolen out of Hamden on November 18th.
Officer Lawrence exited his patrol vehicle to address the stolen Ford Fusion and discovered that the vehicle was running, and there were three juveniles asleep in the car. (It was later discovered that the juveniles were thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen years of age).
Officer Lawrence, along with the responding Officers, exited their patrol vehicles and attempted to open the doors of the stolen Ford Fusion, only to find that the doors were locked. Officer Lawrence wanted to decrease any chance of the juveniles fleeing the area, so he made the decision to break the driver side window with a window punch that is attached to his pocketknife. Upon breaking the driver side window, chards of glass penetrated Officer Lawrence’s hand.
Officer Lawrence reached inside of the stolen Ford Fusion and unlocked the doors. The operator of the vehicle, a fifteen-year-old juvenile male, was taken out and detained.
While this was taking place, Officer Lozada observed the backseat passenger, a thirteen-year-old juvenile male, reach into his waistband and pull out a firearm. Officers drew their department-issued firearms and gave the backseat passenger numerous orders to drop the firearm. After a brief standoff, the backseat passenger placed the firearm down and was taken out of the vehicle and detained.
The front seat passenger of the stolen Ford Fusion, a fourteen-year-old juvenile male, was taken out of the vehicle and detained.
A secondary pat-down of all the occupants of the stolen Ford Fusion revealed that the operator of the vehicle was also in possession of a firearm. Both recovered firearms were loaded with a round in the chamber.
Officers later confirmed that the operator of the vehicle, the fifteen-year-old juvenile, had three outstanding warrants, two (2) from the city of New Haven for drug sales and violation of probation and one (1) from the town of Stratford for Burglary. The fifteen-year-old was additionally charged with Carrying a pistol without a permit, Weapon in a motor vehicle, Larceny in the Second Degree, and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the Second Degree
The rear passenger of the stolen Ford Fusion, the thirteen-year-old juvenile male, had two outstanding warrants, one (1) from the city of New Haven and one (1) from the town of West Haven, both for stolen automobiles. The thirteen-year-old was additionally with Carrying a pistol without a permit, Weapon in a motor vehicle, Larceny in the Second Degree and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the Second Degree.
The fourteen-year-old juvenile male who was seated on the front passenger side of the stolen Ford Fusion was placed under arrest and charged with Larceny in the Second Degree and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the Second Degree.
All Officers involved resorted to their training and handled a potentially deadly situation with poise and calm. Apart from Officer Lawrence suffering minor cuts to his hand, no one was harmed, and all three juveniles were taken into custody.
In addition to the juvenile arrests, Officers recovered three additional stolen vehicles in the immediate area, a Buick stolen from the town of Hamden, a Nissan stolen from the town of West Haven and a Mitsubishi stolen from the city of New Haven.
