Three Cases

Police report two break-ins and an attempted break-in at Thomas’s Deli at 51 Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook.

Sometime between 8 pm January 11 and 5:40 am January 12, someone forced open the front door of the convenience store and stole numerous cartons of cigarettes, police said.

The incident constitutes second-degree criminal mischief and third-degree larceny. Based on the charges, somewhere between $250 and $1,500 of vandalism was done and somewhere between $1,000 and $5,000 worth of cigarettes were stolen.

Also, sometime during the early morning hours of January 13, someone smashed in the glass in the deli’s front door and stole approximately 50 cartons of cigarettes, police said.

Police are investigating the case as a burglary/larceny.

Also, police report a case of attempted larceny and criminal mischief at the deli about 10:45 pm January 16.

A witness spotted a youth attempting to break into the store by kicking in the front door. The youth then fled the scene in a vehicle, police said.

 Police ask anyone with information about the incidents to contact them.

Two Accidents

State police report that two motor vehicle accidents occurred on westbound Interstate-84 near Exit 9 in Hawleyville late on the night of January 14, tying up traffic in the area.

State police said motorist Jason P. Penney, 27, of Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia, Canada, was driving a 1992 Mazda commercial van, which was hauling a trailer, when the trailer started to fishtail about 11:30 pm. Penney drove the vehicle to the road shoulder and slowed down, but the trailer detached from the van and debris from the trailer scattered along the highway, state police said. Penney was uninjured. State police charged him with traveling unreasonably fast.

About 20 minutes later, westbound motorist Laura Johnson, 49, of Harvard, Mass., who was driving a 1997 Dodge Caravan minivan, slowed down for the earlier accident and the minivan was struck from behind by a westbound 1989 Volvo DG-4 sedan driven by Fred Gilbert, 32, of Danbury, state police said.

Ms Johnson complained of a neck injury in the collision, state police said. State police charged Gilbert with failure to drive a reasonable distance apart.

Interstate Crash

State police report an accident between a mid-size sedan and a tractor-trailer truck on westbound Interstate 84 about 12:15 pm January 12, just east of the Parmalee Hill Road overpass.

State police said motorist Peter G. Stern, 64, of 19 Park Lane was driving a 1998 Toyota Camry in the left lane, when a vehicle which was ahead of him dropped an aluminum ladder onto the highway. Mr Stern attempted to avoid striking the ladder, but could not and drove over it, slowing down in the process, state police said.

Traveling directly behind the Toyota was a tractor-trailer truck driven by Thomas M. Melnyk, 48, of Walden, N.Y., said state police.

Melnyk was unable to slow to a stop before striking the Toyota from behind, state police said. The truck also drove over the ladder.

There were no injuries, according to state police.

State police found no identifying information on the ladder. No information was available on the vehicle from which the ladder fell.

Hawleyville Accident

State police report an accident on westbound Interstate 84 about one-half mile east of Exit 9 about 8:15 am January 10.

State police said motorist Bertrand J. Lafreniere, 41, of Cheshire was driving a 1991 Ford F-150 pickup truck in the left lane and stopped for traffic, when he was struck from behind by westbound motorist Sharon V. Panda, 24, of Naugatuck, who was driving a 1995 Volkswagen Jetta.

There were no injuries. State police charged Ms Panda with following too closely.

Exit 11 MVA

State police report an accident on the Exit 11 on-ramp of westbound Interstate 84 about 11:30 am January 8.

State police said motorist Francis C. Spence, 25, of Danbury, who was driving a 1978 Chevrolet Impala station wagon, was traveling on the ramp when the vehicle went out of control and struck guardrailing along both sides of the road.

Spence was not injured. No enforcement action was taken.

Toddy Hill Collision

Police report a two-car collision on northbound Toddy Hill Road about 6:40 pm January 8.

Police said motorist Christine Davis, 31, of Southbury, who was driving a 1986 Toyota Celica, slowed down due to slippery road conditions.

Motorist Mark J. Baxter, 26, of Milford, who was driving a 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage, slid and struck the rear end of the Toyota, police said.

There were no injuries. Police verbally warned Baxter for failure to drive a reasonable distance apart.

Botsford Hill Road

About 9:45 pm January 8, motorist James Swenson, 37, of 27 Turkey Roost Road, who was driving a 1993 GMC Jimmy eastbound on Botsford Hill Road, pulled to the right to allow eastbound motorist Charles A. Strangos, 30, of 3 Botsford Hill Road, who was driving a 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck, to pass the GMC on the snowy, icy roads, police said.

The Chevrolet struck the GMC, police said. There were no injuries.

Police verbally warned Strangos for failure to drive a reasonable distance apart.

Alcohol Incident

Police report that a juvenile brought an undetermined amount of alcohol to the town’s teen center on Church Hill Road and gave the alcohol to other juveniles who drank it on the night of January 12.

The parents of one of the youths contacted police to report the problem, police said.

Police said they investigated the matter and found that “numerous” youths had drunk alcohol and become intoxicated. The parents of the intoxicated youths brought their children home, police said.

Police said they charged the youth who provided the alcohol to the other youths with public possession of alcohol by a minor and delivery of alcohol to a minor. Police declined to identify the youth because he or she is under 16 and is protected by non-disclosure laws.

Police said the charged youth is scheduled to appear in Danbury Juvenile Court to answer the charges.

Eye Care Case

Police report they received a call from Eye Care Plus in Sand Hill Plaza January 11 informing them of a discrepancy in bookkeeping and some missing cash. Police said they are investigating the apparent instance of sixth-degree larceny. Sixth-degree larceny involves the theft of less than $250.

Warrant Served

Police report they served a rearrest warrant against a Mahopac, N.Y., woman January 12, listing several charges in connection with a March 8, 2000, incident.

Police said they charged Denise Pizzi, 46, with failure to appear in court, driving under the influence, failure to drive to the right, interfering with police, criminal mischief, and refusal to be fingerprinted in connection with the incident on Route 6.

A $3,000 bond was set and Ms Pizzi was transported to Danbury Superior Court that day to face a judge, police said.

South Main DUI

Police said they saw motorist Richard Trites, 52, of Moodus, who was driving southbound on South Main Street, cross over the road’s centerlines as he rounded a curve about 9:20 pm January 12. Police said they then turned on their emergency lights and siren and pursued Mr Trites for 1,500 feet before he pulled onto Cedar Hill Road and then into a driveway.

Police said Mr Trites failed field sobriety tests. Police charged him with driving under the influence, failure to stop when signaled, and failure to drive to the right on a curve.

After processing, he was released on a $150 bond for a January 23 appearance in Danbury Superior Court.     

 

Boggs Hill Road

Police report motorist Chris Larochelle, 31, of East Sandwich, Mass., was driving eastbound on Boggs Hill Road about 9 am January 15 when, as the vehicle rounded an icy curve, it left the road and struck a snowbank and two mailbox posts at 147 and 149 Boggs Hill Road.

Larochelle reported a back injury. There was no enforcement action.

Blazer Rollover

Police said motorist Thomas T. Ramsdell, 17, of 16 Pond Brook Road was driving a 1991 Chevrolet Blazer on Hanover Road about 10:20 pm January 15, when he took his eyes off the road. The Blazer then went onto the right road shoulder, traveled across the road, went off the left shoulder and rolled onto its roof, police said.

Ramsdell was uninjured, police said. Police verbally warned him for failure to drive to the right.

Main Street Crash

Police report a two-car accident at the Main Street flagpole about 11:40 am January 13.

Motorist John W. Lowden, 67, of Bethel, who was driving a 1993 Buick Skylark northbound on Main Street, was in the process of turning left onto West Street when the Buick struck southbound motorist Michael F. Cunningham, 48, of Rhinebeck, N.Y., who was driving a 1999 Ford Taurus, police said.

There were no injuries. Police issued Lowden a written warning for making a restricted turn.

 

Dickenson Drive

Police report a two-vehicle accident on Dickenson Drive, the street which leads to Sandy Hook School.

Police said motorist Peter Piccirillo, 83, of 39 Riverside Road, was driving a 1999 Plymouth Voyager eastbound about 8 am January 12 when his view was obstructed by sun glare, resulting in him drifting into the westbound lane and striking westbound motorist Donald D. Singer, 48, of 16 Lyrical Lane, who was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.

There were no injuries. Police issued Piccirillo a written warning for failure to drive to the right.

    

Warrant

Police report they served a warrant on Mario Alberghini, 41, of 155 Boggs Hill Road January 17 in connection with a past incident. The warrant lists charges of second-degree failure to appear in court, driving under the influence, and failure to obey a stop sign, police said.

Police said they placed a $750 bond on Mr Alberghini and transported him that day to Danbury Superior Court for an appearance before a judge to answer the charges.

Car Wash Break

Police said someone entered Newtown Car Wash on Simm Lane by breaking a side-door window sometime on January 14 or 15. The burglar stole a large, unspecified amount of money, police said. Police ask anyone with information about the burglary/larceny to contact the detective bureau at the police station.

 

Residential Theft

Police report that a Hattertown Road family has noticed that during the past several months various items have been removed from their home. The extent of the thievery has not yet been determined. There are no signs of forced entry into the premises. Police ask anyone with information on the case to contact them at the police station.

 

Deer Vs SUV

Police report motorist Kevin J. Iannazzo, 35, of 4 Hunting Ridge Road, who was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe eastbound on Route 302 near Boggs Hill Road about 5:50 pm January 17, encountered a deer which had run into the road, but was unable to avoid the animal. The sport-utility vehicle struck and killed the deer, police said. Mr Iannazzo was not injured, police said.

Warrant

Police said they served a warrant January 16 against Cheryl Millington-Hansen, 39, of Waterbury, charging her with second-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and operating a motor vehicle with a rider outside the vehicle in connection with a recent incident on Riverside Road in Riverside.

Police said they held Ms Millington-Hansen on a $5,000 bond for an appearance that day in Danbury Superior Court to answer the charges.