A police officer tried to perform a check on a blue Suzuki Forenza with a paper registration plate Friday morning, leading to the arrest of an Ansonia man for an alleged flimflam scam.
When the officer followed the car heading north on Route 111 at 3:40 a.m., the driver turned right onto Elm Street, then turned onto Wood Creek Drive and parked in a residential driveway.
The officer turned around on Far Mill Road and received a complaint of an unknown vehicle and person in the driveway on Wood Creek Drive. The officer blocked the car in the driveway, according to the report.
The driver, Joseph Marino, 48, admitted to pulling into the driveway to get away from the officer and said he was on his way back to Ansonia, police said, adding Marino admitted the vehicle was unregistered, was not insured and that he was driving with a suspended license.
The homeowner told police he watched his security camera and saw Marino get out of his car, remove items from the backseat and put it in the trunk.
Inside the trunk, police found two brand new tools and burglary tools, according to the report.
Police said Marino admitted to pulling receipts out of Dumpsters at home improvement centers, stealing items listed on the receipts and returning it for cash.
Marino was charged with possession of burglary tools, simple trespass, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, driving without insurance and driving with a suspended license. He was released on a promise to appear in court Jan. 26.
Trespassing on Warren’s property
Police issued infractions for simple trespass to two New York women Sunday afternoon after finding them on the late ghost hunter Lorraine Warren’s property on Knollwood Street.
No trespassing signs are posted throughout the neighborhood, as well as signs informing visitors that the Warren’s Occult Museum has been closed down.
The women receiving infractions were identified as Laura Ramirez, 19, and Michelle Pedrero, 24, of Pleasanville.
Box truck crashes into tree
A man driving a Ford box truck south on Barn Hill Road Tuesday afternoon was going up hill in freezing rain and icy conditions, crossed the double yellow lines, crossed over the northbound lane, hit a curb, then struck a tree.
No injuries were reported for the driver nor his passenger.
The driver, Chapdelaine Cecililo, 59, of 235 Martin St. in Hartford, was issued an infraction for traveling too fast for conditions.
The crash occurred around 1:56 p.m.
Larceny arrest
Newtown police arrested a man on a Monroe warrant Tuesday charging him for allegedly buying $2,426 worth of items from TLC Nursery, 742 Main St., in October and never paying the invoice.
Monroe officers picked up Donald Butler Jr., 39, of 183 Hattertown Road in Newtown and charged him with third-degree larceny and held him on $15,000 bond overnight, before taking him to court the next day.
Police said Butler came into the store on Oct. 3 to put the items on Valley View Landscaping’s account. After TLC Nursery attempted to contact Butler on Oct. 7, Butler asked them to send him an invoice.
On Oct. 10, Butler told the business he had mailed out a check on Oct. 9, but police said days went by without the check arriving.
On Oct. 31, the business contacted Valley View Landscaping, which told them Butler no longer worked there and that they did not have an account with TLC nor did they authorize anyone to open an account there.
Police said that is when officers applied for the warrant.
A case of fraud
A man told police Tuesday that he received a notification letter from a collection agency about an unpaid $291 debt from an AT&T account. But he does not have an account with AT&T.
The phone company confirmed an account was opened in the victim’s name and identity theft paperwork was filled out.
Police said an Internet search of the collection agency found it has been accused of using partial or inaccurate information or knowingly using fraudulent information to collect money.
Police said the victim was told to contact all of the major credit bureaus to put alerts on his accounts.
Hiring movers leads to fraud
A Bridgeport man turned himself in on a warrant Monday for allegedly cashing a stolen check.
Julio Velazquez, 34, of Alice St. in Bridgeport, was charged with sixth-degree larceny, second-degree forgery and third-degree identity theft. He was released on $5,000 bond for a Dec. 26 court date.
A man told police he rented a U-Haul truck and hired two movers from Shelton, while moving to South Carolina on May 28. Then on June 1, he saw his bank statement and noticed two checks he did not write, one for $320 and another for $110.
The signatures on the checks were neither the victim’s nor his wife’s, police said.
Police Lt. Steve Corrone said a police investigation confirmed it was Velazquez who cashed the $320 check at a People’s United Bank branch at Stop & Shop in Bridgeport.
The other fraudulent transaction was made by someone else at a different People’s United Bank branch in Bridgeport, police said.
