Police have arrested the man accused of breaking into a home in Monroe and stealing copper pipes and plumbing, which he stuffed into suitcases and pulled down the street.

According to police, Drew Russo, 28, of Monroe, burglarized a home on Old Tannery Road in Monroe the afternoon of March 9 and used a bolt cutter to slice copper pipes and plumbing parts from the home heating system.

He took the metal, along with two gaming stations and piece of mail addressed to burglarized home, and put them into two suitcases, according to police.

Police spotted Russo pulling the suitases on Walnut Street and recognized him "due to his extensive arrest history." Authorities said Russo also had an outstanding arrest warrant at Bridgeort Superior Court at the time of the rime.

Russo was taken into custody and charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree larceny, first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree criminal trespass and possession of burglary tools.

It's Russo's second burglary in as many months. Police said he also broke into a vacant home on Shelton Road in Monroe on Jan. 23 and cut out piping, causing the basement to flood.

Russo pawned pieces of copper to scrap metal dealers, according to police.

The union that represents correction officers at the Cheshire Correctional Complex is expressing concerns over officer safety after an inmate "violently assaulted" a prison worker on Wednesday.

State correction officer and AFSCME Local 387 President Rudy Demiraj said a 20-year-old inmate at the Mansion Youth Institution attacked a correction officer Wednesday, sending the officer to the hospital.

The "brutal attack" is the second in six months, according to Demiraj. A correction officer at Cheshire Correctional was stabbed in the neck last October and a second was hurt while trying to intervene.

"This latest attack only reinforces our longstanding concerns over safety, staffing and security within Connecticut's prisons," Demiraj said in a statement Thursday. "We are asking the Department of Correction, state legislators and Governor Malloy not just to listen to our concerns, but to take action to better protect public safety."

United Technologies has announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from Hartford to Farmington.

"Our remaining headquarters personnel in Hartford are moving 10 miles to UTC-owned space in Farmington later this year," a UTC spokesperson said in an email Thursday evening. "This consolidation of offices is part of an effort to reduce corporate overhead costs."

Devon Puglia with the governor's office said that Gov. Dannel Malloy "has been in communication with UTC executives and has conveyed that, as they are considering their options, it is in their best interest to keep Sikorsky located in Connecticut."

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra addressed the move in a statement Thursday.

"We understand that it was a cost savings decision that had been planned for some time. UTC is a tenant in the Gold Building and currently occupies only three floors," the mayor said.

Segarra added that the city is "disappointed" about UTC's decision to move but "confident" that another business will soon move into the space.

With baseball season just weeks away, Connecticut seems to be swaying even more toward the Yankees than the Red Sox, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. 

When it comes to the divide among New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox fans in the state, the Yankees have traditionally had a 5 percent lead, but the results of Quinnipiac University's 13th Annual Connecticut Baseball Poll released on Friday give the Yankees the biggest lead since 2006 -- 44 percent to 37 percent.

Today, the New York Mets win the hearts of 6 percent of fans, their worst showing ever.

The Baseball Poll measures the loyalty of 51 percent of Connecticut adults who say they are “very interested” or “somewhat interested” in Major League Baseball.

Geography plays a role in baseball loyalty, with Yankees fans up 53 to 15 percent in Fairfield County and 52 to 33 percent in New Haven and Middlesex counties, while Red Sox rule 51 to 32 percent in Hartford County and 57 to 34 percent in Tolland, Windham and New London counties.

"The Captain may have retired, but the Yankees widen their dominance over the Red Sox with Connecticut baseball fans rallying to the Yankees by the largest margin we've seen in nearly a decade," Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said.

Men back the Bombers 43 to 36 percent, while women like pinstripes 45 to 38 percent.

 Less than a week after Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford was evacuated over a bomb threat, there was another report of a threat found scribbled on the wall.

Police said a threat was reported after someone found some scribbling on the wall, but it’s not clear whether the note is old or new.

The scene is clear and the school was not evacuated. Police said there have been several similar incidents in recent days and police don't believe there's any real threat.

Last Thursday, Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford is evacuated after a note with a bomb threat was found in one of the labs this morning, according to school office staff. Students were allowed back in after the scene was determined to be clear.

 A woman who had no pulse at a supermarket in East Hartford is alive thanks to a police officer who acted quickly and performed CPR.

Officer Woodrow Tinsley responded to Stop and Shop at 940 Silver Lane in East Hartford on Wednesday when police received a report that a woman not breathing and found the woman had no pulse.

Tinsley started performing CPR until her heartbeat returned around two minutes later, police said.

The East Hartford Fire Department arrived shortly after and began treating the woman until an ambulance brought her to the hospital.

Kia is recalling nearly 209,000 Soul small SUVs because the gas pedals can bend or break.

The recall covers certain Soul and Soul electric vehicles from the 2014 and 2015 model years.

If the gas pedal bends or breaks, it can be hard to accelerate the SUVs, increasing the risk of a crash.

Kia Motors America says in documents filed with the government that an unsupported section of the pedal can bend if a driver stomps on it too hard when the vehicle isn't moving.

The problem was discovered through warranty claims. Kia says no crashes or injuries have been reported.

Dealers will add rubber supports beneath the pedal stopper at no cost to owners.

The recall is expected to start on March 24. To see if your vehicle is being recalled, click here.

Saturday is Pi Day, a national celebration of the mathematical concept, which is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Pi equals 3.1415... and Saturday, 3-14-15, the only day this century that matches pi.

Schools and museums across the country have planned events to celebrate the concept, which has fascinated humans for centuries. Pi Day is also a good excuse for paying tribute to pies, whether sweet or savory. 

In the spirit of the holiday, here are 3.14 things you may not know about pi:

1. No one is certain who discovered pi as we know it today

But we do have some ideas. It seems that the Egyptians used pi in the construction of the Great Pyramid because when the perimeter is divided by its height, one gets a close approximation to 2&pi. It’s the same result if one divides the circumference of a circle by its radius.

But the most significant pi research might have come from the astronomer, Archimedes, around 250 B.C.

His mathematical calculation showed that pi was "between three and one seventh and three and 10 seventy firsts,” Steven Strogatz, an applied mathematics professor at Cornell University, told NBC Owned Television Stations. “He approached that putting a six sided figure into a circle, then made it 12 sided, and went all the way up to a 96-sided polygon.”

He proved that pi was found somewhere between these two numbers, which applied to all circles.

2. You can find your identity in pi

One myth is that since pi is a continuation of numbers, people’s identities can be found in the pattern: like social security numbers or birthdays.

This theory became popular when this meme appeared on George Takei’s Facebook:

But Professor Strogatz stressed that the meme is misleading.  Even if it is true (which is not yet known), the digits in pi would tell us nothing about a person's life or identity, because along with correct social security numbers and brithdays, there will also be wrong social security numbers and birthdays.

3. Proving pi with matches

You can prove pi exists with matches, toothpicks, a pen, or anything else that is the same length, explained Johnny Ball, the author of “Why Pi? (Big Questions).”

“There’s a wonderful way to find pi for yourself. You find a floor with parallel lines; you find matches, pins, pens, exactly the same length. If you drop a hundred of them at random on the floor, the points touching a line will equal pi,” Ball said.

The matches' length must be equal to the distance of the two parallel lines. After the matches are dropped, you multiply the number of matches thrown down by two and divide it by the total number of matches that touched a line, which will equal pi.

This problem was discovered in the 18th century by French mathematician Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.

Check out this video on Dr. Tony Padilla's YouTube channel Numberphile where he demostrates Buffon's Needle Problem:

3.14...Legislating against pi

In 1897, Indiana state legislators tried passing a Pi Bill that legally defined pi as 3.2. Edward J. Goodwin, a physician, convinced a well-known mathematical monthly newspaper that he had solved what mathematicians had tried to do for generations: squaring the circle. Simply put, squaring the circle is the impossible task of finding the area of a circle by finding the area of a square around it. Goodwin claimed that pi was 3.2 instead of a continuous number. The bill never became a law thanks to Professor C. A. Waldo who convinced the Indiana Senate that Goodwin’s discovery was not possible.

Somers police are investigating a vague school shooting threat that was posted on a social media site early Friday morning.

According to police, the threat was made on the Yik Yak app around 1 a.m. and was not directed at any one school in town and a resident was the one who contacted state police.

The first thing that comes up on Yik Yak in the Somers area says, “Want to make sure everyone is aware of this school shooting threat.”

Yik Yak is a social media app that allows people to post anonymously, though it is geographically specific.

State police are taking the threat very seriously and arranged for extra presence at all three schools in town.

State police ask anyone with information about the social media threat to call state police at 860-893-3200. 

A provocative purse is being removed from the racks of a New York-area clothing chain following an NBC 4 New York investigation into one shopper's complaints.

The controversial clutch, sold by fashion chain Easy Pickins, has a realistic-looking 3-D imprint of a handgun that could make it look like the wearer is holding a real firearm.

"If I saw a woman walking down the street with this purse I might look at her and say, 'Oh my god, that girl has a gun in her bag,'" said Natalia Perez, a former news reporter who told NBC 4 New York about the pocketbook.

Fernando Cacoillo, head of operations for Easy Pickins, said he was unaware his chain carried the pistol-themed bag and quickly ordered more than 20 stores to stop selling it.

"We’ll take it off the shelves right away,” Cacoillo said. “I would go out to the manufacturer of this handbag and have them take it off the market completely.”

Easy Pickins uses an outside company to choose and purchase merchandise and store managers were not immediately able to determine who manufactures the $18 handbag.

Perez says she is concerned a police officer responding to a crime in New York City might see a purse imprinted with a pistol and mistake it for a real gun.

“All of these things we’re seeing in the media about Ferguson, shootings, and police brutality — this is just not the message you want to send to young women to just go out and look cute with a gun in their purse," she said. "That looks crazy.” 

An injured 73-year-old woman was lying in the snow outside her Shelton home and calling for help for almost half an hour after a man followed her home, stole her purse and tossed her to the ground, police said.

Police have identified Michael Dean, 55, of Derby, as the suspect and said he followed the victim home and into her garage.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, police responded to Coram Road after receiving a 911 call reporting that a woman had been robbed at her home.

When police met with the victim, she told officers she’d returned home after doing an errand in Derby, pulled into the garage and closed the garage door.

As she got out of her car, someone was behind her and grabbed her purse, throwing her to the ground.

The victim could not get up after the attack, but she managed to crawl out of the garage to try and find help. After around 25 minutes, a neighbor heard the cries for help and called police. EMS was also called to the scene to evaluate the victim.

Detectives canvassed the area where the victim had been before she was robbed and found outside surveillance video, which led to police identifying Dean as a suspect.

Dean was charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and second-degree assault of the elderly.

Dean is being held on a $100,000 bond. If he does not post bond, he will be arraigned at Derby Court on March 16.

The FBI's famed and feared "Most Wanted" list is turning 65.

Saturday marks the anniversary of the launch of the "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” program, which began on March 14, 1950. The “Top Ten” aims to publicize dangerous fugitives, garnering help from the public to capture criminals.

The idea began in 1949 when a reporter for the International News Service asked the Bureau for a list of the “toughest guys” the Bureau wanted to capture, according to the FBI. The reporter’s story gained so much interest that late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover created the program.

As of December 2014, 504 fugitives have been named to the “Top Ten” list, the bureau says. About 470 of those have been apprehended or located. Here are some facts about the history of the list, released by the FBI ahead of the anniversary: 

Making the list:

Who decides which criminals are bad enough to make the cut? The fugitive must be considered an especially dangerous “menace to society,” according to the Department of Justice and the FBI, or have a long record of serious crimes. The Criminal Investigative Division at FBI headquarters puts together the list by contacting 56 field offices to submit candidates, who are reviewed by special agents and the office of public affairs. FBI executive management makes final approval.

As for getting off the list, in addition to being captured, found dead, or surrendering, a fugitive's name is erased if any federal process pending is dismissed or they no longer fit the criteria. Six fugitives have been removed for such reasons in the list's history.

Top crimes change over time:

The types of criminal acts committed by "most wanted" fugitives have changed over the years. The 1950s and '60s saw bank robbers, burglars, car thieves and kidnappers. In the 1970s, those involved in organized crime and murder were frequent offenders. From the '80s through the late ’90s, drug-related crimes and serial murders were top priority. In recent years, fugitives who commit violent crimes, drug trafficking, and international money laundering have made the “Top Ten.”

First "wanted" fugitive:

The first person named to the list was Thomas James Holden, who was wanted for murdering his wife, her brother and her stepbrother. Holden was listed on March 14, 1950, and located on June 23, 1951, after a citizen recognized his picture in an Oregon newspaper. Ruth Eisemann-Schier, wanted in connection with the kidnapping for ransom of a wealthy college student, was the first woman named to the list, on Dec. 28, 1968. She was located by authorities the following March and later sentenced to prison. Since then, seven other women have appeared on the “Top Ten,” with the most recent being Shauntay L. Henderson, who authorities allege was the leader of a violent Kansas City gang. Henderson, who has reportedly denied involvement in any gang, was apprehended less than 24 hours after she was placed on the list in 2007. She later pleaded guilty to a 2006 killing.

Getting caught:

The public have played a big role in catching people from the list, helping capture or locate 156 fugitives.  And those wanted criminals have been tracked down coast to coast; the bureau says it has apprehended fugitives from the list in every state except Alaska, Maine and Delaware. Some apprehensions are quicker than others. In 1969, convicted robber Billie Austin Bryant, on the run after escaping prison and killing two FBI officers, was on the list for just two hours, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Victor Manuel Gerena, meanwhile, has been on the list for more than 20 years, since May 14, 1984. He's wanted in connection with a $7 million heist from a Connecticut security company. The FBI offers a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of a “Top Ten” fugitive. In some cases, the amount is more.

A Norwalk pawn shop alerted police to a suspected case of child pornography and police have arrested a local man in the case.

In February, a manager of the Yankee Peddler and Pawn on Main Street in Norwalk called police after discovering child pornography on some sort of a device they had in possession and provided investigators with information about the person who owned the device, police said.

Robert Mosley, 48, of Norwalk, was identified as a suspect and police seized another of his devices, on which they found several pornographic images of children, according to a news release from police.

On March 12, a manager of Yankee Peddler and Pawn contacted police to tell them Mosley was coming to the store to retrieve items held there, so detectives from the Special Victims Unit, as well as officers from the Patrol Division, responded and waited for Mosley to arrive.

When he showed up, SVU detectives took Moseley into custody and transported him to Norwalk Police Headquarters, where he was questioned and admitted to possessing child pornography, police said.

Mosley was charged with possession of child pornography, promoting a minor in an obscene performance, importing child pornography and obscenity.

He was held on a $50,000 bond and is due in court on March 20.

Police are still investigating and ask anyone with additional information to call Detective Paulino at 203-854-3163 or to call the Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111.

Other options are to leave an anonymous tip on the Norwalk police Web site or text an anonymous tip by sending "NPD" to CRIMES (274637).

The city of Hartford, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the ride-sharing service Uber are working together to keep drunken drivers off the roads and help people to get home safely after celebrating at Saint Patrick’s Day events.

The city’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was originally scheduled for Saturday, but it was postponed to next Saturday because of the forecast.

From this Saturday through next, $1 from each Uber ride in Connecticut will be donated to MADD. To qualify, users will have to enter the promotion code "MADDSPD" into the app.

As an incentive to use Uber to get home, the ride service is offering $20 off the first-time Uber riders. To take advantage, riders enter the code "MADDCT" into the app. Five dollars will be donated to MADD for each person who enters the code.

“Really the message we’re trying to get across is, while you’re out celebrating, please do so responsibly, and that’s what Uber’s here to do,” said Matt Powers, the general manager of Uber in Connecticut. “We’re very excited about this partnership to promote safety in the state of Connecticut and help residents get out there and celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day safely.”

Johanna Krebs, of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the organization wants people to get home safely after going out, celebrating and having a good time.

“Whether it’s utilizing ride-share programs, taxis, public transportation or designating a non-drinking driver, we want you to get home safe,” Krebs said. “There’s no excuse to get behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking.”

Earlier this week, a father of six was run over and died after leaving a market in Hartford and Brian Foley, deputy chief of the Hartford Police Department, said “early and all indications” lead police to believe the driver was under the influence.

“St Patrick's’s Day is a day obviously where there a lot of alcohol is consumed here in the city,” Foley said, and asked people who will be heading to Hartford to be respectful and safe and arrange for a safe ride home.

“Don‘t get behind the wheel when you’re drinking. We will have enforcement out here,” Foley said. “We would hate to see something bad happen on Saint Patrick’s Day during such a great event for the city here downtown.”

Mayor Pedro Segarra said there have been some very sad experiences because of drunken driving and this adds another layer of safety.

 Burglars forced their way into a home on Front Street in New Haven on Tuesday and stole guns and thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, according to police.

Police responded to on Front Street on Tuesday after the 46-year-old homeowner came home to find his front door broken into, police said.

The resident told police that one burglar or more stole eight firearms, including three shotguns, a rifle and four handguns, as well as around $8,000 worth of jewelry, police said.

 New Haven police are looking for the two men who tied up a woman at the home office of a local oil company, forced her into the bathroom and stole her belongings as well as company checks.

Police are responding to the intersection of Chapel and Temple streets in New Haven after a pedestrian was struck Friday afternoon.

The driver involved in the collision stayed at the scene. Authorities have not released any information on the condition of the pedestrian, but the person was placed on a stretcher with a neck brace and was alert while being loaded into an ambulance.

Traffic is partially blocked on one side of Chapel Street between College and Temple streets while authorities respond to the scene.

No additional information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Animal control is investigating after a Shelton mail carrier was attacked by a dog on Thursday, according to Shelton police.

Police said the Shelton Post Office contacted animal control on March 12 to report that an employee had been bitten on Beech Hill Road.

The town animal control officer is looking into the incident.

Firefighters responded to Oak and Putnam streets in New Britain after flames broke out in a second-floor apartment Friday afternoon.

According to the shift commander, no one was hurt, firefighters put the out the fire quickly and no one has been displaced.

Crews are checking the building's roof to see whether flames spread to the third floor.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

The 50-year-old man whose body was found hours after a driver reported hitting something in North Haven Tuesday night has been identified by police as Michael Jung of North Haven.

A driver called 911 around 10:45 p.m. to report that he'd struck something in the area of Clintonville Road near Pool Road, police say. Officers responded to the scene but didn't find anything, so they let the driver go.

Hours later, a neighbor called to say he found a body lying on the side of the road in the same area the crash had been reported. 

"I was leaving my house, there's a person in someone's driveway, right on the side of the road, not responsive," the caller says in the 911 recording. "There's no car... there's a sideview mirror right next to the guy, and his pants are ripped open."

The caller told emergency dispatchers Jung was not breathing and didn't appear to have a pulse.

Officers again drove to the scene, and this time, found Jung's body. Police said Jung suffered traumatic injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The South Central Regional Traffic Unit is investigating the crash and anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call the department at 203-239-5321.