MONROE, CT — Monroe police officers raised $1,060 for Special Olympics Connecticut during their annual Tip-A-Cop fundraiser at Jennie’s Pizzeria, 380 Monroe Turnpike, Wednesday.
Officers assisted waitstaff and some of their children also pitched in.
“They look forward to it every year, wearing the T-shirts and aprons provided by Special Olympics Connecticut, while they clear tables, set tables, pour waters and bring bread to customers,” said Officer Nicholas Franzago. “Our kids did a great job helping out the staff.”
Franzago said attendance was good that evening and police had members of the Special Olympics at one table.
“We presented a plaque from Special Olympics to Jennie’s to thank them for their participation,” he said.
All tips officers receive are used to help Special Olympics Connecticut’s mission of providing life-changing sports, health and fitness programs to athletes of all abilities.
Tip-A-Cop is a Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Connecticut event. For information, visit soct.org, email [email protected] or call (203) 230-1201.
Police food drive
The Monroe Police Department will host a food drive for those in need in the Century Plaza parking lot, 535 Monroe Turnpike, this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nonperishable food items are welcome.
Thieves crash, flee on foot
A Webb Circle woman called police to report seeing a man trying to enter both vehicles in her driveway, before driving off in a white vehicle around 3:32 a.m. Wednesday. She had no other description.
Officers later saw a white Ford Escape speeding on East Village Road toward Route 111, turn onto 111, then onto Hammertown Road, heading west before turning around and going back to 111, where it headed north at approximately 60 mph.
The Newtown Police Department was notified of about the vehicle, but Monroe officers found it at the intersection of routes 111 and 34, where it crashed into a utility pole. The officers observed the two occupants, one Hispanic and one Black male, running into the woods.
A K-9 was requested and the Milford Police Department sent its dog, however the track was unsuccessful, according to the report.
The Ford Escape was reported stolen out of Waterbury. Inside was a Wolf Rugby Moped, reported stolen out of Shelton, police said.
The utility pole was already braced from a previous accident and Eversource was called for repairs.
‘Escort girls in town’
A 48-year-old Monroe man reported a scam on Wednesday afternoon after receiving threatening text messages from someone claiming he owed money to “escort girls in town”. The resident told police he does not use escorts.
At approximately 1:33 p.m., he told officers he received a text from someone claiming to be a representative of “escort girls in town”, who told the resident he received several complaints from the girls that he plays with them and doesn’t pay.
The person requested payment for the girls.
In a second text message, the “representative” suggested resolutions to the issue and continued making threatening statements. He texted that men will come and tear the Monroe man and his family apart, and if he doesn’t pay he is surely going to die.
The texter sent the names of the victim’s family members, including his father, as well as a name that is not known to him, according to police.
The Monroe man did not send the “representative” any money or requested information.
The texter also sent a video of two men wearing black masks inside a vehicle. One had a red hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and the other wore a dark colored New York Yankees baseball cap and a yellow shirt. The man in the cap waved what appeared to be a silver handgun.
Gun to his own head
An 81-year-old Newtown man allegedly held what appeared to be a pistol to his own head, while renting a truck at the Home Depot in Fairfield on Nov. 6, then left the store. He was later apprehended by Monroe police officers.
Police said there was no altercation with a store employee when the man pulled out what looked like a handgun. He left in the company truck of a Monroe business and town officers later found him there.
He told officers it was a toy gun and that he threw it out of his truck window, while driving to Monroe, according to the report.
Monroe police held him for Fairfield officers to take into custody on their charges.
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