MONROE, Conn. — An Uber driver suspected his customer, a 76-year-old Monroe woman, was being scammed Wednesday, when she told him she had to go to the bank to take out $15,000 for someone she had accidentally overpaid. The driver walked into the M&T Bank at 401 Monroe Turnpike with her and spoke to the manager to share his concerns.
The bank manager concluded she was being scammed and stopped the transaction, preventing the woman from suffering any financial loss, police said.
Phone tracks down stolen BMW
A Pinto Lane woman tracked her stolen BMW X1 to Boston Post Road in Milford, where thieves abandoned it early Wednesday morning. Inside, property stolen from cars entered in Monroe and other towns, including wallets and credit cards, were found, according to police. The case is still under investigation.
Monroe police officers had responded to several reports of thefts from cars being entered on Wheeler Road in the overnight hours.
At 2:32 a.m., the Pinto Lane woman reported her BMW stolen. She told officers the theft occurred sometime within the last 10 or 15 minutes.
She had returned home from a friend’s house and went inside, when she heard what she thought was talking outside. Then she looked out the window and saw her vehicle backing up and taking off, police said.
The keys were inside the vehicle, which was unlocked with her wallet and credit cards inside, police said. However, the victim still had her cellphone and was able to track her vehicle as it was driven through Newtown, down to Bridgeport and eventually to Milford where it was recovered.
Driver falls asleep, wakes up to a DUI
A 30-year-old Meriden man woke up to a DUI after concerned witnesses called police about a red Tesla stopped in the north lane of the 400-block of Monroe Turnpike around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Police were told the driver appeared to be asleep, but woke up as bystanders tried to assist him. Officers spoke to the witnesses and the driver at the scene.
When officers asked him to step outside the vehicle, he reportedly told them he was on medication that can make him drowsy, but also admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages while at the beach earlier. He was examined by Monroe Emergency Medical Service personnel, but refused further treatment.
Police said he started to participate in field sobriety tests, before allegedly refusing to complete them, so he was placed under arrest. When officers did an inventory of the Tesla before having it towed, police said they found several empty nip bottles of vodka.
At headquarters, police said breath tests showed the driver’s blood alcohol level was nearly double the legal limit.
The man was charged and released after posting seven percent of his $500 bond for an Aug. 4 court date.
Head-on collision
A 21-year-old Monroe man told officers he was tired while driving home on Elm Street, before his gray Honda Civic drifted over the double yellow center line and his car collided head on with an Amazon van driven by a Fairfield man, 49, Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the Amazon driver injured his wrist and the Monroe man sustained facial injuries. Both drivers were treated by Monroe Volunteer Emergency Medical Service personnel and the Monroe man was taken to Bridgeport Hospital for further treatment.
The crash occurred just south of Twin Brook Terrace around 3 p.m. The Monroe man told police he accidentally drifted while heading south on Elm Street. The Amazon driver said he saw someone come into his lane and reduced his speed, but could not stop or avoid the collision, according to the report.
The Monroe man was issued infraction for failure to drive in the proper lane. Both vehicles were towed due to disabling damage.
Evading charge
A 54-year-old Shelton man turned himself in on a warrant charging him with evading responsibility Tuesday after he allegedly sideswiped a Jeep Grand Cherokee with his motorcycle on Main Street on June 17.
He was also charged with failure to drive in the proper lane and improper passing on the right, then released on seven percent of his $10,000 bond for a July 31 court date.
On June 17, the driver of the Jeep told officers he was heading north in the 100-block of Route 25 and was making a right turn onto Old Newtown Road, when a tan and black motorcycle went around him and hit his vehicle in the process, before its rider continued north.
Police said they could not find the fleeing motorcycle and there was damage on the front-passenger side of the Jeep, but the vehicle did not need to be towed, according.
Using surveillance video from the area, officers were able to identify the motorcycle and learned the driver was the Shelton resident. Then officers applied for the warrant.
Fraud investigation
Police are investigating a fraud complaint from a Monroe man, who believes a former employee has been changing the date and check numbers on old payroll checks and depositing and cashing it in person and online at Key Bank. As of Wednesday, the victim had lost nearly $1,447.
On Wednesday, the victim gave officers copies of three different checks he believed had been altered, after he received a call from M&T Bank the day before, regarding fraudulent activity on his account. Police said the checks were made out to three different people and the victim was only familiar with one of the names.
The resident and business owner’s bank is investigating the matter on their end and he was advised to freeze his accounts and notify the major credit bureaus.
The Monroe Police Detective Division is investigating the case.
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