Date: Fri 10-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Hoseye-Coach-Road-police

Full Text:

Hoseye Coach Road Residents Want A Greater Police Presence

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A group of residents from the Hoseye Coach Road area have told Police

Commission members they want law enforcement stepped up in their vicinity to

thwart repeated cases of drinking, loitering, trespassing, vandalism, dumping,

littering, target practice, bonfires, and partying.

Hoseye Coach Road is a dirt road in an isolated area of Sandy Hook extending

from New Lebbon Road to the intersection of Still Hill Road, Sherman Street

and Old Mill Road.

At a May 7 Police Commission meeting, Tracy James-Terry of Old Mill Road told

commission members that she has had to repeatedly call police to deal with

problems along Hoseye Coach Road. The residents of that area have started a

neighborhood watch program to help police deal with illegal activity there. Ms

James-Terry said she wants police to take stricter measures than issuing

tickets which charge offenders with simple trespassing. Such tickets carry a

$77 fine.

Fires, littering and drinking in the area have made conditions difficult, she

said.

Sometime overnight on February 14-15, a house under construction at 1 Hoseye

Coach Road caught fire in what may have been an arson. No one was injured in

the blaze which caused an estimated $60,000 in damage to the building under

construction owned by Daniel Garcia. The fire wasn't reported until the

afternoon of February 15 when it was discovered by a resident of the area. The

destroyed building was approximately three-quarters of a mile from the nearest

building.

Bill Bennett of Still Hill Road, who rides horses in the area, said that since

a logging project took place in the area about 10 years ago, partying has

increased and conditions have deteriorated. Mr Bennett said he has found

various materials dumped in the area, as well as drug paraphernalia, condoms

and beer cans. Also, people riding all-terrain vehicles (ATV's) pose problems,

he said.

Recent increased police patrols in the area have helped somewhat, Mr Bennett

said.

"What would you like us to do,?" asked Acting Police Chief Michael Fekete.

Parents provide their children with ATV's which then allow the children to

roam, Chief Fekete said.

Mr Bennett said there was a lengthy delay in police arriving at the scene of

the house fire in February. He also criticized the behavior of police at the

scene, saying they didn't act quickly enough in gathering evidence.

Mr Fekete responded that the police department has a formal complaint policy,

adding he will look into the case.

Mr Fekete told the residents that police are limited in what charges they can

press against people loitering in the Hoseye Coach Road area, depending upon

the circumstances of the incident they find.

Sometimes a simple trespassing charge is the only applicable charge in a case,

although other factors may be at play, he said.

"A lot of these people come up from Monroe," Chief Fekete said of the

loiterers.

Bob Terry of Old Mill Road asked what the police can do to keep violators from

getting away with their offenses.

Chief Fekete responded that police will continue their increased enforcement

efforts in the area.

The police chief told the residents there are many areas of Newtown that

experience problems similar to what happens along Hoseye Coach Road.

"There's so much building going on. On every cul-de-sac, they try to party,"

he said.

Of Hoseye Coach Road, he said "We can't be there all the time. We're trying to

have our patrols go in there as much as possible... We're trying. But it is a

large town.

"You give me a marker number and my officer will make an arrest, even if he

has to go to Monroe," he said. "Let's try and work together."

One disgruntled resident said that initially the loitering only posed noise

and beer drinking problems, but now those who loiter set huge bonfires and

have littered the area with ammunition casings from target practice.

"We feel like our hands are tied," Ms James-Terry said.

Of the February house fire, Chief Fekete said Police Sergeant Henry Stormer,

Fire Marshal George Lockwood and the state fire marshal's office are

investigating leads on cause of the blaze. "It's a suspicious fire at

present," the chief said.

Mr Garcia, whose house under construction burned down in February, told

commission members that he has begun rebuilding the structure.

Trespassers in the area of Hoseye Coach Road are probably getting the message

that their presence won't be tolerated there, Chief Fekete said. However, he

noted that they now likely will loiter in other isolated areas in town.