Date: Fri 12-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Chris-D'Angelo-name-mix-up

Full Text:

Mistaken Identity Starts A Rumor Rolling In Newtown

BY STVE BIGHAM

Talk about a case of mistaken identity.

Word was spreading quickly around town earlier this week that Newtown resident

Chris D'Angelo had been arrested for robbing a bank in Derby. It's not true.

Yes, there was a Chris D'Angelo who police apprehended December 2 after he

allegedly held up the Union Savings Bank then led police on a wild chase

through the streets of Derby. However, this alleged criminal was from

Wallingford.

Newtown's own Chris D'Angelo, the Newtown High School freshmen soccer coach,

had nothing to do with this incident. But there were some in town who believed

he was after reading a newspaper story about a man with the same name who had

been nabbed. The rumors began to spread quickly about the soccer team's

bank-robbing coach, especially at Newtown High School, where rumors can gain

momentum with startling speed. School officials wondered, "could it be?"

They doubted it was the same Chris D'Angelo. After all, Chris was a well-liked

student and standout soccer player for NHS back in the early 1990s. In fact,

he helped lead the team to a 1990 state soccer title. He graduated in 1990.

Today he is a popular coach.

When contacted Wednesday, Chris said he had heard about the rumors and, of

course, denied being a bank robber. Luckily, the Church Hill Road resident has

a good sense of humor and simply laughed it off.

"Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it," he said.

NHS Principal Bill Manfredonia said he received calls from parents this week,

informing him of the arrest. All along, however, Mr Manfredonia refused to

believe it was the same person and was relieved when he finally learned it was

not.

"I'm so glad to hear that," said Mr Manfredonia, who planned to set the story

straight in the NHS hallways.

According to Derby police, at 1:54 last Tuesday, they were notified of a bank

robbery in progress at the Union Trust Bank at 653 New Haven Avenue. When they

arrived, they spotted the other Chris D'Angelo leaving the bank. They

reportedly followed him and ordered him to stop. The suspect then got into his

car and, in his attempt to flee the scene, nearly ran over an officer.

In response, officers fired shots at the vehicle as the other Mr D'Angelo

exited the parking lot. The suspect headed west on Route 34 at a high rate of

speed with the officers in pursuit, then turned off onto Sodom Lane. It was

there police finally forced him into the rear parking lot of Service

Merchandise and arrested him.

The other Chris D'Angelo was held on $500,000 bond and faced numerous charges.

Newtown's Chris D'Angelo was connected to the crime only in name.