MONROE, CT — While officers were speaking to a 33-year-old Danbury man on his cellphone about a time he allegedly evaded the scene of an accident in Monroe, police say he was involved in a second crash in Bethel, abruptly ended the call, and drove off again.
At approximately 10:39 p.m. Thursday, he turned himself in on a Monroe warrant charging him with evading responsibility. He was released after posting seven percent of his $10,000 bond for a July 18 court date.
On June 28, he allegedly drove a gray lifted pickup truck north on Route 25 (Main Street), toward the intersection with Judd Road, when he swerved into the oncoming lane and hit a car stopped at a red light, before continuing down Judd Road.
There were no injuries, police said.
Officers tracked down the woman the vehicle was registered, who reportedly told them her boyfriend was driving the truck at the time of the accident, and shared his contact information.
An officer called him on his cellphone and asked if he was involved in the accident.
He said he doesn’t speak English. Then the officer heard him say, “oh no,” moments before hearing a loud crash, bang, police said. Asked if he was just involved in another accident, he ended the call.
Police contacted surrounding towns about any accidents occurring in that time frame and Bethel police reported a motor vehicle crash on Route 6, in which a pickup truck matching the description of what the Danbury man drives evaded the scene.
Monroe police later interviewed him at headquarters and he confessed to driving the truck when it was involved in the Monroe crash, police said, adding officers then told him to go to the Bethel police station to report his involvement in the accident in their town.
Domestic incident
A Monroe man turned himself in on charges related to a domestic incident reported on Wednesday night.
At approximately 7:35 a.m., officers responded to the call at a Twin Brook Terrace residence. The victim said her boyfriend came to the house and allegedly threatened her with a knife, before pulling her to the ground, striking her in the face with his fist and placing his hands around her neck area, restricting her breathing.
Police contacted the boyfriend, who came to headquarters.
Julio Mendoza-Salinas, 29, was charged with disorderly conduct, third-degree assault, second-degree threatening and second degree strangulation. He was held on $75,000 bond and taken to court for arraignment the same day.
Tesla tire gashed
A man reported a vandalism of his wife’s Tesla Wednesday, while she was eating at the Monroe Diner, 568 Main St., the previous day.
Police said she parked her gray 2024 Tesla in the parking lot around 9:30 a.m., came back to her car at 10:45 a.m. and drove home. When she got out of her car, she reportedly heard a hissing sound.
She called her husband, who inspected the outside of the vehicle and noticed a one-inch gash on the wall of the right, rear tire, near the rim, police said, adding he later told officers it looked like it was made with a knife.
Police are working with the Monroe Diner, going over video camera footage of the parking lot in an effort to find out exactly what happened.
Facebook Marketplace scam
A 22-year-old Monroe man fell victim to a Facebook Marketplace scam, in which the suspect hacked someone else’s Facebook page and used the profile to advertise a Honda Civic for sale.
On July 7, the Monroe man told police he expressed interest in the $3,200 vehicle and was told he needed to make a down payment of $1,000 for the seller to hold the car for him. He made the payment through Apple Pay using his bank debit card, police said.
After learning the person he thought was selling the vehicle had been hacked on Facebook, and was not the one who posted the ad on Facebook Marketplace, the victim’s bank informed him the $1,000 had already been withdrawn from his account.
Police said the other person’s Facebook account does not match the phone number where the money was sent, further proving that that person had no knowledge of the scam.
The Monroe Police Detective Division is investigating the case.
DUI, interfering
A 42-year-old Monroe man was arrested for DUI and other charges following a traffic stop on Church Street Thursday evening.
At approximately 4:55 p.m., a police sergeant noticed a silver 2014 Chevy Silverado stopped in the eastbound lane of Church Street, so close to the intersection with Elm Street that there was only enough room for one vehicle to pass.
When the sergeant walked up to the driver’s side window and told the driver to move his truck, the man allegedly waived his phone indicating he was on a call. And when the sergeant told him he was impeding traffic, the driver allegedly yelled back, “you’re impeding traffic.”
The sergeant pulled his vehicle behind the Silverado and the driver began to pull away. The sergeant turned off his emergency lights and followed him.
Police said the driver crossed over the double yellow center line several times and his speed was clocked at 37 mph in 25 mph zone, so the sergeant pulled him over in the 70-block of Church Street.
A check with the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles showed the owner of vehicle had a suspended license.
Because the man had been involved in numerous incidents with Monroe police officers in the past, including arrests with interfering with police officers charges on three separate occasions, police said the sergeant immediately called for backup.
Police said the man was still on his cellphone and only provided his driver’s license. Asked for the rest of his documents, he told officers he did not have them, according to the report.
During questioning, police said the driver seemed to always be turning away while talking to officers, adding his eyes were glossy and he was visibly sweating.
He said he did not drink alcoholic beverages that day and knew he shouldn’t be driving based on his suspended license, but that he was returning home from getting his child’s prescriptions from the drug store, police said.
Police said the officers noticed an open, empty brandy bottle inside the truck, behind the center console, before the driver began to roll up his window.
Officers ordered him to roll it back down, but he allegedly refused. When they told him to exit the vehicle, he screamed that he didn’t have to listen to the officers, police said, so the officers opened the door and pulled him from the vehicle, while he allegedly resisted.
He allegedly screamed profanities and continually asked the officers, “why?” While he was screaming, police said officers smelled the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath.
Later at headquarters, police said he initially refused to participate in field sobriety tests, telling officers they destroyed his rights and he didn’t have to listen to them, before taking part in the tests and failing to perform them to standard.
He refused to participate in breath tests, police said.
He was charged with interfering with an officer, DUI, misuse of a marker plate, operating under suspension, operating without insurance, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, failure to maintain the proper lane, and traveling unreasonably fast.
He was held on $2,000 total bond and brought to court in Bridgeport on Friday.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
