Stratford Police Arrest Siblings for Larceny, Heroin

After he got pulled over and before he was arrested on heroin and motor vehicle charges, Waterbury resident Joel Burdzy reportedly told Stratford police he was going to get something to eat while he waited for the bondsman to bail out his sister, who, just hours earlier, was arrested on larceny charges. 

Janel Burdzy, 31, also of Waterbury, was being booked for allegedly attempting to steal $158 worth of baby formula from Walmart, 150 Barnum Avenue Cut-Off, on Dec. 11 at 5:17 p.m., a police report said.

Joel Burdzy, 26, was pulled over at 7:42 p.m. near the interesection of Main Street and Barnum Avenue after an officer on patrol reportedly noticed his license plate affixed to the vehicle with only a single screw, police said.

Police said a DMV check revealed Burdzy had a suspended license. Burdzy's passenger identified himself as Paulo Reis, the report said.

Police said prior to a patdown, Reis allegedly admitted that he had a hypodermic needle in his pants pocket. The needle was removed by police and allegedly found to have a brown substance believed to be heroin on the end, police said.

A K9 unit was called in to search the vehicle. The dog alerted officers to the driver's side floorboard. Officers located a pack of Newport cigarettes with four wax paper folds with suspected heroin inside, the report said.

Police also reportedly found a Maine license plate in the car. The report identified the plate as "a common way for criminals to quickly switch plates during commission of crimes."

Both Burdzy and Reis said they did not know the suspected heroin was in the car, police said. Burdzy reportedly told police the car belonged to his sister. He was unable to prove the car was registered, police said.

At booking, Reis admitted he had given a false name, police said. A search of the man's real name, Bruce Reis, revealed 25 prior arrests and eight active warrants.

The suspected heroin tested positive and weighed 1.5 grams, police said.

Joel Burdzy was charged with possession of heroin, misuse of plates, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, operating a motor vehicle without insurance and operating an unregistered motor vehicle. He was released on $5000 bond.

Bruno Reis was charged with possession of heroin and interfering with police. He was held on $5000 bond.

Janel Burdzy was charged with sixth-degree larceny and bond was set at $500.

Questions about this police report may be directed to jason.bagley@patch.com.