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Police Arrest Suspect in Hamden Home Break-In

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Hamden police have arrested a man accused of breaking into a Hamden as the residents slept in July and stealing several items, including a computer and a cell phone.

Jacob Williams, 22, of New Haven, is accused of breaking into a Prospect Lane home through an open window on the night of July 30. He was arrested on a warrant on Monday at Meriden Superior Court and charged with burglary in the second degree and third-degree larceny.

He was detained on a court-ordered $50,000 bond and arraigned later in the day.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Drone Carrying Drugs and Blades Found in Prison Yard

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A drone carrying drugs, blades and other contraband crashed into an Oklahoma prison yard on Monday, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, NBC News reported. 

Staff at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester noticed the drone on prison grounds at around 9 a.m., according to a statement from the Oklahoma DOC. The drone had apparently hit a razor wire, which caused it to crash.

A package attached to the drone with fishing line contained two 12-inch hacksaw blades, 5.3 ounces of marijuana, .8 ounces of methamphetamine and less than a gram of heroin, according to the state.

The package was also carrying a cellphone, cellphone battery and hands-free device; two packs each of Newport cigarettes and Black & Mild cigars; and two tubes of Super Glue.



Photo Credit: Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Hamden Area Man Killed in Fall at West Rock Ridge

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State officials have identified the hiker who fell to his death at West Rock Ridge State Park in New Haven on Sunday night as Robert Anastasio, 26, of the Hamden area.

Officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said they identified him through fingerprints and State Police records.

Someone who saw Anastasio fall from a cliff called 911 around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday and crews from the New Haven police and fire departments responded, along with crews from the state DEEP.

Anastasio's body was found at the body of the cliff and the New Haven Fire Department recovered it on Monday. 



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Obama on Chicago's Gun Violence

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Speaking to thousands of police chiefs gathered Tuesday in Chicago, President Barack Obama briefly addressed the gun violence afflicting his hometown and urged cooperation between police officers and communities.

Obama listed statistics about lower crime rates nationwide, saying the crime rate today is half of what it was 20 years ago. He admitted, however, that violent crime in some cities, like Chicago, has increased.

"I live on the South Side of Chicago, so my house is pretty close to some places where shootings take place," Obama said. "Because that's real, we have to get on top of it before it becomes an accelerating trend."

Chicago saw one of the most violent Septembers in years, with two consecutive weekends of more than 50 people shot. In a single day, on Sept. 2, nine people were killed and at least 12 others were wounded in shootings across the city, making it the deadliest day in the city in over a decade.

The president then focused on criminal justice reform and gun control. He spoke about the police-involved shootings that have painted national headlines in recent months, saying "anecdotal evidence" should not be used to change policy. Instead, police and the public need to stick to the facts, he said.

Obama spoke at the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The five-day event is the world's largest law enforcement conference, with more than 14,000 professionals in attendance. This year's conference came on the heels of other similar gatherings addressing criminal justice reform, including one in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Despite the president's call for cooperation between officers and the communities they serve, the beginning of the conference was marked by protests. On Saturday, 66 demonstrators were arrested for blocking traffic. Many of them were protesting the police killings of Rekia Boyd in Chicago and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, among others.

On Monday, demonstrators gathered outside McCormick Place, where the event was held, and took aim at gun makers who were exhibiting at the conference. The group called for "smart gun" technology that would require a gun to have fingerprint recognition in order to fire and help prevent the sale of guns to the wrong people.

Obama echoed the calls of the demonstrators to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people and said it was easier for people in some communities to find guns in their neighborhoods than to find fresh vegetables at a supermarket.

"It's too easy for criminals to buy guns and that makes (police officers') already dangerous job far more dangerous than it should be," the president said. "And it makes the communities so fearful that it's hard for them to be a good partner with you. The streets become abandoned and parents start not being as involved."



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Stealing 111 Guns

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A 30-year-old Bridgeport man who stole 111 guns from the Smith & Wesson manufacturing plant in Springfield, Massachusetts and sold many of them on the streets has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison.

Elliot Perez was sentenced on Tuesday to 210 months in prison, or 17-and-a-half years, followed by three years of supervised release.

Officials said one of the guns was used in a murder in Bridgeport and more than 50 of these guns are still unaccounted for.

“This defendant not only stole more than 100 firearms, but he quickly sold dozens of them on the street putting them directly into the hands of criminals,” U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said in a statement. “Not only are the stolen guns now turning up in criminal investigations as far away as North Carolina, but one was used in a Bridgeport murder and another in a shooting at a Hartford night club.”

Federal authorities said Perez was a truck driver for Pace Motor Lines at the time, and picked up five boxes of guns from the Smith & Wesson manufacturing plant in Springfield and placed the boxes in his truck.

He also stole three additional boxes, containing a total of 111 firearms, then drove the truck filled with the guns his home in Bridgeport, where he met his another man, according to authorities.

Then he delivered the original five boxes of guns to the trucking company’s distribution center in Stratford.

Perez has been in custody since his state arrest on Nov. 23, 2012 and pleaded guilty in February 2014 to one count of conspiracy to possess and sell stolen firearms, one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon and one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer.



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U.S. to Take 'Direct Action' on Ground Against ISIS

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Defense Secretary Ash Carter told congressional lawmakers Tuesday the U.S. will begin "direct action on the ground" against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Carter said "we won't hold back" from supporting partners with "strikes from the air or direct action on the ground."

Carter cited the operation with Kurdish forces last week that freed hostages but resulted in the death of Joshua Wheeler, a soldier from Oklahoma. Carter said Tuesday that Wheeler was "killed in combat."

After months of denying that U.S. troops would be in a combat role in Iraq, Carter had acknowledged to NBC News last week that the raid was combat.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said Tuesday that the U.S. effort in Syria is a "half-assed strategy at best."



Photo Credit: AP

Man Wanted in $35K Silver, Gold Theft

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State police are seeking the public's help in locating a burglary suspect, police said.

Owen Nelson, 33, of Middletown, is wanted in a reported residential burglary in Haddam Neck, state police said. He is accused of stealing $35,000 in silver and gold items from a home.

State police identified Nelson as the suspect. Investigators described him as 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds and said he has brown hair and blue eyes.

Nelson faces pending charges on first-degree larceny and third-degree burglary.

His bond will be set at $100,000.

State police ask anyone who knows where Nelson is to call Haddam Resident Trooper Enrico Milardo at 860-399-2100 or 860-345-2769.



Photo Credit: State Police

Burglars Steal $8K, Watch: Police

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Stratford police are looking for two male suspects in a residential burglary from June.

On Friday, June 19, Stratford police responded to 1126 Stratford Ave., Apt. A-1, to investigate a reported burglary.

When they arrived, a man living there told police that he went out with his wife between 8:30 p.m. the night before and 1:30 a.m. that morning, police said. The man noticed empty grocery bags on the kitchen floor when they got back and the mattress was at an angle, according to police. Then he realized $8,000 cash that had been tied in a rubber band and a Michael Kors told watch were missing from his dresser drawers, police said. It was a $300 women's watch that was gold with a black background, according to his wife. She didn't know the serial number of the watch.

Surveillance cameras at the home showed the couple leaving their home at 8:07 p.m. the night before they noticed their house had been burglarized. Then at 8:32 p.m., a camera on the west side of the home shows a man with a ponytail in a white T-shirt, dark pants or jeans, white sneakers, a dark baseball hat and gloves on the property. Police described him as a man in his mid 30s, 5-foot-7 to 6 feet tall and 180 to 200 pounds. The camera shows the man walking with a small "A-frame" ladder and cable spool and then captures him trying to open the residents' bedroom window, police said.

The video then shows the man put a cell phone to his ear and use it before moving out of the camera's view and to the south, police said. His shadow was visible on the camera footage when he stopped at the next window, which goes to the living room.

The man got in through the living room window, police said.

The camera then shows a second man at 8:43 p.m. walking on the west side of the building with a ladder and breaking into the building through the back door at about 8:47 p.m., pulling his hooded sweatshirt sleeve over his hand as he turned the door knob to open the door, police said.


Police Search for Man Who Approached Bridgeport Girl

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A man approached an 11-year-old girl in Bridgeport on Tuesday morning and asked her to get into the car with him, according to police, who are investigating it as a possible attempted kidnapping.

The girl, a student at Roosevelt School, told police a man in a black four-door vehicle with a broken front headlight stopped his car on Norman Street, near the corner of Fairfield Avenue, at 9:10 a.m. and asked her to get into the vehicle, but she refused and instead kept walking.

The driver then sped away. Police officers and detectives are investigating and said they are following up on strong leads.

Anyone with information about the possible abduction attempt should call the Bridgeport Police Department at (203) 581-5201.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Experts: S.C. School Officer's Actions 'Over the Line'

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It's unlikely that a South Carolina police officer was justified in dragging a high school student across her classroom Monday, regardless of what led to the confrontation, experts say.

Details about what prompted the incident at Spring Valley High School in Columbia are still unclear. But education safety specialists say school resource officer Senior Deputy Ben Fields, who appeared to body-slam the student in cellphone video of the encounter, was over the line, NBC News reported.

"There are situations where it is appropriate to touch someone or pick someone up, or move them for some reason. But body slamming? The school should not be the site of a WWF exhibit," said Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center.

"Typically, school officials will address issues of discipline matters, and officers will address matters of criminal offense. So the question is, what was this young lady doing? Was she simply being defiant, or were there illegal activities involved that would warrant a reasonable use of force?" Stephens said.



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Suspected Police Impersonator Drove Recklessly With Kid in Car: PD

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Groton police have arrested the driver of a fake police car that is outfitted with red and blue flashing lights and a siren who they say weaved recklessly in and out of traffic with a small child in the car, police said.

Carl E. Adams, 26, of Groton, is facing multiple charges including impersonating a police officer, risk of injury to a minor and multiple motor vehicle violations.

A police officer saw a green Honda CR-V equipped with red and blue emergency lights and a siren speeding recklessly in and out of traffic on Ford Hill Road in Groton and first thought it could be someone undercover. But when they heard the siren and there were no calls in the area, they knew something wasn't adding up.

The car did not have markings or license plates properly identifying it as an emergency vehicle, according to police.

The officer chased the car to see who it belonged to and determine whether it was a police or fire vehicle, but the driver sped off and the officer was unable to stop him, police said. The car was going 85 to 100 miles an hour, according to Groton Police Lt. John Varone.

On Monday, police released photo and video footage of the car captured from a school bus and it has blue and red strobe lights in the front and back of the car, police said on the Groton Police Department's Facebook page.

After police put out the news out that they are looking for the car, they received more reports from people who had also spotted the vehicle in Norwich and Waterford. The investigation revealed that the car was "operating in the same fashion in other towns."

Police identified Adams as the driver and learned that he had a small child in his car with him "while driving in this dangerous manner," police said. His relationship to the child and the kid's exact age are unknown.

Police said they were confident the car was not an emergency vehicle. They charged Adams with impersonating a police officer, risk of injury to a minor, first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, use of unauthorized colored lights, illegal use of a siren, failure to drive in the proper lane and improper passing.
Adams was held on a $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on Oct. 28.

Police said social media and news coverage of the incidents helped them identify and track the driver in the county.



Photo Credit: Groton Police Department

Republicans Seek to Impeach IRS Chief

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House Republicans filed papers Tuesday to begin impeachment proceedings against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen over the agency's alleged campaign to revoke the tax-exempt status of Tea Party-affiliated groups, NBC News reported. 

The resolution — filed by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and 18 other members of the committee — accuses Koskinen of lying to Congress about agency emails that were found to be missing. It was filed four days after the Justice Department found no criminal behavior in the IRS' scrutiny of the tax statuses of conservative political groups.

In an email to NBC News, the agency said: "The IRS vigorously disputes the allegations in the resolution. We have fully cooperated with all of the investigations."
 



Photo Credit: File--AP

Chicago Activists Target Suburban Flow of Guns

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In the nine years since Pamela Montgomery-Bosley’s 18-year-old son, Terrell, was shot to death outside a Chicago church as he unloaded drums with a bandmate, she has been afraid that her other sons will be killed too.

She worries about them playing basketball outside, walking around, even sitting on the porch and if she could afford to, she would leave Chicago, she said.

“We should have a safe community like everybody else,” she said.

Already outspoken about the bloodshed that is ravaging Chicago’s South and West sides, Montgomery-Bosley joined an unconventional lawsuit filed over the summer to try to staunch the flow of guns into the city. Rather than sue the gun shops that Chicago officials say supply a disproportionate number of the weapons recovered at crime scenes in the city, the lawsuit uses a state civil rights law to target the suburban villages where three of the four gun shops are located. Brought by the Coalition for Safe Chicago Communities and others, it accuses the villages of discriminating against the city’s African-American residents by being lax in the regulation of gun dealers.

“We want our kids to be able to come outside and play and go to school and feel safe like everybody else, like other communities,” Montgomery-Bosley said. “We’re fighting for our civil rights.”

The verdict last week in another lawsuit, a rare ruling against the gun industry, has encouraged Montgomery-Bosley and other activists. A jury found that a gun shop in Milwaukee was negligent when it sold a pistol to a straw buyer — a man who stood in for the 18-year-old too young to legally buy a firearm — and it awarded two police officers badly wounded by the gun more than $5 million in damages. It was an egregious case in which a videotape showed the actual purchaser pointing to the gun he wanted and prompting his older friend as he filled out a form.

Both sides of the gun debate are watching to see whether the verdict spurs more challenges to the industry. The gun shop, Badger Guns, is expected to appeal.

"When dealers know that they could be liable for not taking common-sense steps to making sure that guns don't get into the wrong hands, that will hopefully dry up the supply of illegal guns a little bit at least," said Mike McLively, a staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in San Francisco. "We'll see what happens. It's definitely not over yet."

Court action against the gun industry was more common before Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005, at the urging of the National Rifle Association. The law was meant to end lawsuits trying to hold gun manufacturers and dealers liable for negligence when their weapons were used in crimes. It bans such suits except in cases involving defective weapons or if a dealer knowingly violates laws governing the sale of a gun.

The Milwaukee decision was the first jury verdict since the law was passed, McLively said. Another pending lawsuit to watch, he said: the one against Bushmaster Firearms International, the maker of the rifle that Adam Lanza used to massacre 20 first-graders at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

"If there were to be a victory there, in addition to what's happened now in Milwaukee, I would definitely say that there's some momentum building," he said.

A lawyer representing Montgomery-Bosley and the others, Sean Morales-Doyle, said the verdict was a good sign about where preventing gun violence was headed although it was reached on a different approach.

“We’re happy to see that there’s a growing concern about straw purchasers and preventing sales to straw purchasers,” said Morales-Doyle of Despres, Schwartz and Geoghegan. “So it's obviously a very similar issue to what we're trying to address in our case. We’re addressing it from a different angle.”

The coalition’s lawsuit, based on the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, argues that the lives of African Americans in the most affected areas are endangered by the guns being sold in the villages of Riverdale, Lyons and Lincolnwood. The villages’ policies have turned their neighborhoods into virtual war zones, while white neighborhoods are safe, their lawyers argue. The illegal trafficking of guns keeps residents isolated and fearful, and depresses the value of their homes.

Morales-Doyle says the law does not require them to show intent.

A study done last year by the city of Chicago, “Tracing the Guns: The Impact of Illegal Guns on Violence in Chicago,” found that 60 percent of guns recovered in crimes in Chicago between 2009 and 2013 were first sold in other states, many with weaker gun laws. Indiana, Mississippi and Wisconsin topped the list.

The three gun shops in the Chicago suburbs — Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale, Midwest Guns in Lyons and Shore Galleries in Lincolnwood — and another in Gary, Indiana, supplied nearly 20 percent of guns found at Chicago crime scenes, amounting to thousands of guns. The stores are all within a short drive of Chicago.

“By contrast, during that same time period, the average number of guns traced back to all other gun stores was three,” the report says.

Just this weekend, six people were killed in the South and West sides.

Much of the violence is driven by gangs, officials say. The death toll of the weekend before last included a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot in the head by his 6-year-old brother during a game of cops and robbers. The boys' 25-year-old father, who is charged with child endangerment, told police that he was a former member of the Spanish Cobras gang who bought the gun for protection. It was stashed on top of the refrigerator

The Chicago Tribune, which has been tracking shootings in the city, reported after the weekend that at least 415 people had been shot to death this year, up from 356 last year.

Homicide rates in some parts of Chicago have fallen, but by neighborhoods not across the whole city, the coalition's lawsuit notes in legal papers filed late last week. Maps posted by Daniel Kay Hertz, a senior fellow at City Observatory, a think tank devoted to data-driven analysis of cities, show that from 2008 to 2011, the North Side of Chicago had a homicide rate of less than 6 per 100,000. Meanwhile, neighborhoods on the South and West sides got more dangerous — a few with rates up to 70 per 100,000.

The lawsuit asks that the villages require the gun shops to do more to keep guns out of Chicago: background checks on their employees, training for employees to identify straw buyers, alarm systems and other measures to deter theft, alphabetical logs of the sale of guns later associated with a crime, refusal to deal with customers who recently bought guns used in a crime, inspections of store inventory and video cameras to record sales.

“People who care about the issue need to take creative and untried approaches to get at this problem," said Locke Bowman, the executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the Northwestern University School of Law. "There isn’t any doubt that the prevalence of guns, the ease with which folks can acquire guns, connects to the unacceptable levels of violence in which guns are involved.”

The villages have asked that the lawsuit be dismissed.

Steven M. Elrod, a lawyer with the firm Holland & Knight, which is representing Lincolnwood, said the courts cannot be used to mandate action from a legislature, which is what is being asked.

“We appreciate the concern that the plaintiff has concerning gun violence,” he said. “We do not agree with the procedure that they are using to reach their goal."

Midwest Guns had no comment and the other two stores did not respond to telephone messages.

Chuck's Gun Shop has been the site of protests by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as part of its campaign against "bad apple" gun dealers. It is among the 5 percent of gun dealers in the country that supple 90 percent of the guns in crimes, according to organization.

The Rev. Michael L. Pfleger, the senior pastor of St. Sabina Church on the city's South Side, said he and others had long tried to convince Chuck's Gun Shop to better regulate its sales and help stop the carnage in the city.

"We're just saying you've got to stop worrying about money and worry about being responsible," he said.

George A. Mocsary, an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University School of Law and a co-author of “Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy," said that he expected the coalition’s lawsuit to be dismissed because it did not show any irregularities with the sales as was the case in Milwaukee. That the gun shops in the villages provided more of the guns found at crime scenes did not prove anything by itself, he said.

“These were some of the larger stores in the suburbs," he said. "So if you're a larger store, if more volume goes through your store, inevitably given that guns come from somewhere, comparatively more will come from your store just by virtue of being a bigger business."

The executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, Richard Pearson, also argued that the lawsuit had no merit.

“You can bring it under anything you want, if it has no merit, it has no merit,” he said.

After Montgomery-Bosley’s son Terrell died, she offered a $7,000 reward to try to find out who had killed him, but his case remains unsolved. She said she heard that someone playing a joke claimed falsely that he was in a gang. He was attending Olive-Harvey College, a community college that is part of the City Colleges of Chicago, playing his base guitar and working, she said.

Chicago is two cities, she said. If the gun violence were taking place downtown, officials would have found a way to stop it, she said.

“If it wasn't just on the South Side of Chicago and it was downtown and everywhere else, then it's a Chicago issue," she said. "But this is just in our community and I feel like they don't care."



Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Drug-Laced Cookie Sickens Nonnewaug High Student

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A Woodbury man and three teens are facing multiple drug charges after a Nonnewaug High School student in Woodbury, Connecticut got sick Friday because of eating a marijuana-laced cookie. The investigation led police to uncover a cache of weapons, authorities said.

Ronald Hoyt, 49, is facing charges in the incident and three teenagers were also arrested. 

An 18-year-old girl who fell ill at Nonnewaug High School was taken to Waterbury Hospital and troopers began investigating, police said.

According to police, the girl gave a 17-year-old boy $20 to buy the cookie from another teen.

When investigators went to a home on Park Street in Woodbury to speak with the teen suspected of selling the laced cookie, they encountered several students and smelled burned marijuana, police said.

Police then applied for a search warrant and waited.

Once the warrant was granted, officers found 2.2 pounds of marijuana, two small explosive devices, 44 guns, smoking pipes, scales, packaging paraphernalia, as well as other drug paraphernalia and $7,440 cash, according to police. State police seized a number of items because the investigation involved narcotics given to a studnet , state police said.

Police arrested Hoyt, a resident of the house, and charged him with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of illegal possession of explosives.

Hoyt's attorney said he has nothing to do with making or selling the pot cookie that sent the student to the hospital.

"Mr. Hoyt denies any and all involvement whatsoever in the making of any food laced with marijuana," Ioannis A. Kaloidis, Hoyt's attorney, said in a statement released to NBC Connecticut. "My client was not involved and had no knowledge of any of the events that resulted in a student becoming ill. Any claims to the contrary are false. All firearms found in the home were owned legally and the cash that was seized was also obtained legally. We will address all further claims in court."

Three 17-year-old boys were charged with marijuana possession and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Police haven't said whether Hoyt is related to any of them, but police said all of them were released to their guardians.

Two of the teens were also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. One was additionally charged with making a false statement in the second degree, and another was charged with illegal sale of a controlled substance.

Carina Booker graduated from Nonnewaug High School five years ago and now her brother is a freshman there.

"He preaches and practices against drugs and stuff, but who knows if people are approaching him and saying this, who knows if his friends might be. It's scary," Booker said in reaction to the incident of the student getting sick off the pot-laced cookier.

She recalled certain groups of kids bringing items like that to parties upon occasion, but she never remembered anyone bringing something like that to school.

Hoyt was released on a $10,000 bond and is due in court in Waterbury on Nov. 12. It's not clear if he has an attorney.

The three teens who were arrested are due in Torrington Juvenile Court on Nov. 15.

Investigators said the firearms could be returned in the future, but they are looking into whether all the firearms seized are legal and have permits.

Police said they are still investigating.

The superintendent of the district Nonnewaug is in declined NBC Connecticut's request for an interview, but said over the phone that the district is taking the matter very seriously.



Photo Credit: Connecticut State Police

Mom Arrested After Her Baby Gets Burned in Tub: PD

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A New London mother is facing charges after her 20-month-old child was severely burned in the bathtub, police said.

Police arrested Elizabeth Mendez-Marchany, 43, of New London, on assault and risk of injury to a minor charges on Oct. 27 at 2:35 p.m.

New London police responded to Mendez-Marchany responded to her home on Sept. 20 to investigate a report of a 20-month-old child having trouble breathing. New London firefighters also responded and discovered her child had severe burns, police said.

Mendez-Marchany admitted to police that she put her baby in the bathtub and left the baby alone while the water was still running. The baby was severely burned because of being in the hot water for a long time, police said.

Her neighbor, Jenna Connelly said she couldn't fathom the news.

"It's absolutely disgusting," she said. "You should never ever leave a baby unattended."

Another neighbor, Bill Heaton said the incident was "unreal."

"It (the water) had to be socrching. It's a shame to even think about it," he said. "You need a parent there. You need some kind of supervision there.... I would hope it's not intentional. I can't imagine a parent doing that to a child.... To allow something like that to happen, what kind of a parent, you know, could you be?"

Police said Mendez-Marchany's initial statement was inconsistent with the injuries of the child, according to doctors.

Police have not released information on the condition of the baby.

Officers are holding Mendez-Marchany in police custody on a $150,000 court-set bond. Unless she makes bond, she will be brought to New London Superior Court on Wednesday.



Photo Credit: New London Police Department

French Train Hero Spencer Stone Earns Promotion to Staff Sergeant

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Spencer Stone, the U.S. airman hailed as a hero for helping to foil a terror attack on a French train, was promoted from Airman 1st Class to Staff Sergeant during a Friday ceremony.

The promotion officially goes into effect Sunday, Air Force officials told NBC News, and the 23-year-old earned the distinction for his leadership and courage that he showed during heroic actions in August.

Stone and two childhood friends subdued a gunman who opened fire on a Paris-bound train. Stone was stabbed with a box cutter several times during the mayhem. He, along with friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, received France's Legion d'Honneur for their bravery.



Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Ken Wright/FOUO

Malloy a Factor in Local Races

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For local races across Connecticut, a prominent name and face is showing up on campaign mail and he's not even up for reelection.

Republicans across Connecticut are using Governor Dannel Malloy as a wedge in races for mayor, first selectmen, and town councils statewide.

“From my perspective we have some of the best ammunition in the state and that’s Dan Malloy" said JR Romano, the Chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party.

On one mailer distributed by Haddam Republicans, there's an image of the governor with a caption that he "turned the lights out on GE."

Democrats say Republicans are wasting their money. Nick Balletto, the Democratic Party Chairman in Connecticut says voters are well-informed and know the difference between state and local politics and issues.

“Local elections are really about your policemen, your firemen, your board of education and your local trash pickup and what’s taking place in your own town and how low are your taxes" Balletto said. "That’s what people are concerned about.”

Balletto says voters in towns across Connecticut look at issues and candidates individually and not necessarily in tandem with the governor.

“I think the Republicans are spending a lot of money and wasting a lot of money and are trying to tie the governor in on issues that don’t make sense.”

Romano predicts that the race for First Selectman in Fairfield could turn into a referendum based on the state's handling of General Electric. The corporate giant employs 800 people in the state and has threatened to leave over increased business taxes, something the governor has proposed changing in the past week.

“The fact that GE is going to be leaving specifically because of what the governor has done to them, you know, it’s going to have an impact for that municipal race" Romano said.

He even accused Fairfield’s Democratic First Selectman as "leading from behind" on the GE issue.

Romano predicted that Malloy will continue to be used by Republicans in legislative races next year as the party attempts to win back a chamber in the General Assembly.

He predicts voters will respond.

“At the end of the day they’re going to realize that milk is more expensive, their electricity is more expensive. They’re paying higher prices for everything. The only thing that’s not larger is their paycheck.”
 



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Pedestrian Found Dead Along Wilbur Cross Parkway

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State police are investigating the death of a person found along the Wilbur Cross Parkway on the Woodbridge-New Haven line on Friday morning and said they believe the person was hit by a vehicle on Thursday night.

Police said someone found the body around 8:40 a.m. on Friday and called Troopers in Bethany. 

Police and crews from the state Department of Transportation responded and set up a detour, sending drivers onto Route 34, then back onto the highway at exit 58.

The road was closed during the morning commute, causing delays to spill over onto Whalley Avenue and Amity Road.

People who were stopped on the highway said they were there for hours.

One woman who has been stopped on the highway started handing Halloween candy out to other people who are also stopped in the traffic.

State police are asking anyone who may have witnessed something in the area of Exit 50 southbound on the WIlbur Cross Parkway overnight to call them at 203-393-4200 or text "TIP711 to 236748.


 



Photo Credit: @DJDoug_theKing

Police Investigation Underway at Falcon Field in New Britain

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State and local police are conducting an investigation at Falcon Field in New Britain Saturday.

The nature of the investigation is unknown. State police said they are assisting local police. New Britain police said they helped Branford police recover evidence "connected to a crime committed in their town," but that their involvement in the investigation is over.

NBC Connecticut has a crew on scene and we'll provide more information as it becomes available.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Route 6 West Closed in Windham

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Route 6 westbound is closed in Windham due to a crash.

The eastbound side is down to one lane.

State police said to expect delays in the area.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com
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