Crime & Safety

Bizarre Incident of Intoxicated Man Entering Home and Taking Purse Ends in Arrest

A Shelton man was charged with burglary and larceny after wandering through a neighborhood and entering a house, allegedly taking a purse.

On May 11, police were dispatched to Stonybrook Road on a report of an intoxicated male. Prior to arrival, police were told that the male had entered a house and allegedly stolen a purse.

Upon arrival, police spoke to a witness, who stated that the male, later identified as Anthony Mainiero, 46, of Shelton, went into his house and allegedly stole his wife’s purse. He pointed to Mainiero, who was standing outside.

Police reported that Mainiero was visibly intoxicated and that he told police that he went into the house by mistake. He denied taking anyone’s purse.

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Police then spoke to another witness who told police that Mainiero came over to his house in an intoxicated state and was looking for his cousin who no longer lives at the address. This person told police that he and other members of his family asked Mainiero to leave but that Mainiero instead stayed there for about 30 minutes and then walked behind the house, coming back around the side a few minutes later.

The person then stated that Mainiero then walked down his driveway, and he followed him and observed him with a black purse in his hands. He stated that another Stonybrook Road resident came out and told him who the purse belonged to and alleged that Mainiero had taken it from his home.

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The second neighbor told police that he then took the purse from Mainiero and gave it back to the resident.

The victim's husband then told police that he observed Mainiero intoxicated on a Stonybrook Road property and that he was there for about 30 minutes, at one point observing him walking up the side of his property, empty-handed.

He asked Mainiero what he was doing in his backyard but Mainiero said nothing. He then stated that Mainiero then walked down another driveway when about two minutes later a neighbor came up to him and returned his wife’s purse, stating that he had taken it from Mainiero.

Meanwhile, the purse owner told police that she had come downstairs and saw Mainiero in her backyard. She stated that she thought she saw something black resembling her purse in his hands and she yelled to her son. The son went outside and told Mainiero to get off their property, adding that there was nothing in Mainiero’s hands at that point.

She told police that her purse had been inside the house on the kitchen table. After inspection upon its return, she told police that nothing was taken out of her purse.

The victim's son told police that he was called by his mother to come to the kitchen because there was someone in the back yard. He said he saw a male waking down their back steps and smelled alcohol on Mainiero’s breath.

He escorted Mainiero to the front yard when he was told he was not allowed on the property. Mainiero had nothing in his hands at the time, the son said.

Police noted that the backyards of the properties in question on Stonybrook Road are separated by an approximate three-foot fence with no opening for passing between them.

One of the witnesses told police that Mainiero must have thrown the black purse over the fence after being seen on the victim’s property and then walked around to retrieve it. It was at this point that a neighbor took it away from Mainiero and returned it to its owner’s family.

The family told police they wanted to press charges and Mainiero was taken to headquarters and charged with burglary and larceny. He was held in $10,000 bond pending a May 25 court appearance.


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