MONROE — Police received numerous complaints about thieves entering vehicles over the past week, with most of the complaints made Sunday.
On Sunday, a 50-year-old Monroe man told officers he parked near the basketball courts at Wolfe Park around 3:30 p.m., placed his wallet and cellphone in a compartment on the driver’s side door, and left to go for a run. When he came back about 30 minutes later, his wallet was missing.
He told officers he believes someone entered his vehicle and stole it, adding he could not recall if he locked the doors, police said.
The wallet did not contain any cash, but had credit and debit cards. Police advised the victim to contact his credit card companies and bank, to cancel his cards and monitor his credit.
Officers searched the area and could not find the wallet. Police said no other thefts were reported at Wolfe Park that day.
In another incident reported Sunday, a 26-year-old Turkey Roost Road woman told police someone entered her unlocked blue Jeep Patriot sometime overnight and stole her dark blue wallet valued at $30. It contained $70 cash, a Venmo card, various credit and debit cards, and her driver’s license, according to police.
She parked her car at 11 p.m. the night before and discovered the theft at 8 a.m. the next morning when she noticed the center console in her Jeep Patriot was open.
Police said she received alerts for one credit card about two transactions made at a gas station in New Haven. The woman froze the account, reported the fraudulent charges, and was issued a new card.
Officers could not find any neighborhood video surveillance footage or witnesses to the theft. The case is now being investigated by the Monroe Police Detective Division.
On Sunday, a River Road man told police his vehicle had been rummaged through sometime overnight and he also found his garage doors open, where his wife’s vehicle was also entered. About $200 worth of gift cards were missing.
Also on Sunday, a Squire Road, resident gave officers surveillance video showing thieves arrive in a silver SUV, which parked in the street with its lights on at 3:51 a.m.
Two suspects wearing black masks and dressed in dark clothing exited the vehicle, walked down the driveway, checking door handles to vehicles. An unlocked pickup truck was entered, then the suspects went back to the SUV and before it drove off. Nothing appeared to be missing, police said.
On Sunday, a Settlers Farm Road man told police a $50 pair of sunglasses was stolen from his unlocked Jeep sometime overnight.
Police also received reports of someone trying to open the door to a woman’s vehicle on Bart Road on Saturday, when several vehicles were entered on the street.
Identity thief steals $11,000
A Monroe couple looked at a printout of their checking account statements on April 13 and noticed two transactions they never made, withdrawals for $6,500 and $4,500 to different companies, according to a police complaint filed Friday.
Police said a representative of M&T Bank, 401 Monroe Turnpike, assisted the couple in filing a dispute form for both transactions and by placing a block on their account.
Then the couple closed their checking account and contacted the Social Security Administration and Pension Office about the incident.
They were advised to contact the three major credit bureaus about the withdrawals and to monitor their financial accounts.
Police said the $6,500 withdrawal was paid to Affirm and the $4,500 to eToro. According to a Google search, Affirm is a financial technology company based in San Francisco, and eToro is a “multi-asset investment company that focuses on providing financial services” headquartered in Central Israel.
Police are investigating the fraudulent withdrawals.
DUI arrest on Main
A 36-year-old Ansonia woman was charged with DUI after allegedly driving erratically on Main Street on April 14.
Around 10:21 p.m., police received a phone call from a driver about a black Acura crossing over the double yellow center line several times, nearly striking vehicles in the opposite direction while heading south, near the Newtown line.
Police officers located the Acura near Route 59 and saw the driver cross over the fog line several times, before turning left onto Knollwood Street and parking on the side of the road, facing in the wrong direction, according to the report.
Police said officers asked the woman where she was and she believed she was at her boyfriend’s house on Hillside Lane. She allegedly spoke with a slurred speech, had a hard time finding her driver’s license, repeatedly lost track of what she was doing, and kept thinking she was on Hillside Lane.
Officers asked if she consumed any alcohol or had taken drugs and she said no, according to police. Police said field sobriety tests determined she was under the influence, leading to her arrest.
Officers searched the vehicle and found a clear plastic bag containing several round blue pills, which they later determined to be oxycodone, 30 mg, not in the proper container.
She was charged with DUI, failure to maintain the proper lane, and possession of a controlled substance. Bond was set at a total of $500 and she was scheduled to appear in court on April 21.
Two-vehicle-crash on Route 110
Monroe Volunteer Emergency Medical Service personnel took one driver to Bridgeport Hospital for treatment of possible injuries after a two-vehicle-crash on Route 110 Friday evening.
At approximately 6:25 p.m., police officers responded to the accident near Barn Hill Road.
According to their investigation, a 61-year-old Monroe man drove east on Route 110 in his white 2017 Chevy Silverado and started to turn left onto Barn Hill, when his pickup truck was struck by a brown 2013 BMW X3 driven by a 20-year-old Trumbull man heading west on 110.
The impact of the collision made the BMW run off the road to the right. It came back onto the roadway, sliding and spinning, before coming to rest in the middle of 110, police said.
The driver of the Silverado reportedly told police he was looking at a trailer stopped at the stop sign on Barn Hill Road and did not see the other vehicle. He had no injuries, according to the report.
The other driver complained of injuries, was treated at the scene by EMS and taken to the hospital. His damaged BMW was towed.
The Monroe man was issued a written warning for failure to grant the right of way.
A stolen package
A Bart Road woman reported the theft of a package FedEx had delivered to her home.
When she did not receive it, she checked the tracking number, which said it was delivered and included a confirmation email, according to the police complaint made on April 15.
