Crime & Safety

Stratford - Police Blotter - May 12 Through 17

Enforcement actions taken recently by the Stratford police department.

On May 12, police were in the area of Armory Road and Nichols Avenue running car registrations when a vehicle exiting the CVS parking lot came back with an expired registration. Police stopped the vehicle on the Nichols Avenue and Rt. 8 overpass and the operator, Nicola Santoro, 51, of Trumbull told police that he he hadn’t registered the car because his check engine light was on and he needed to do his emissions test on the vehicle. Police said that Santoro also changed his story at one point saying that his wife sent in the registration but then saying later that the registration still has to be sent in. The vehicle was towed and Santoro was charged with operating an unregistered vehicle and no emissions. He was released on a promise to appear in court on May 20.

On May 13, police were in the area of Huntington Road and Kovack running car registrations when a vehicle was observed with no front plate and a cracked windshield. The vehicle was stopped near Eli Whitney School and the operator, Luis Torres, 29, of Derby told police that it was not registered or insured. The vehicle was towed and Torres was charged with operating with a suspended registration, no registration, no insurance, failure to display a front plate and he was given a verbal warning for the cracked windshield. He was released on a promise to appear in court on May 24.

On May 12, police responded to a complaint of shoplifting at the CVS on Hawley Lane. Upon arrival, a store official told police that Patrick Serino, 23, of Topaz Place was at the CVS picking up a prescription. Serino was observed in the store opening a nasal spray box and concealing it. Serino left the empty box because it had an anti-theft device on it. While the store official said that they would not be pressing charges because the value of the spray was only $9.99. Police asked that if they were to contact Serino should he be warned not to come back to CVS? The official said no that he had an active account that they didn’t want to lose. However, the official did say that police could tell Serino that if he stole again he would be prosecuted. Police then made two attempts to contact Serino at his phone number, leaving him a message both times. Police then visited his home but no one came to the door.

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On May 15, police were dispatched to Wiklund Avenue on a report of a domestic disturbance between two brothers. Upon arrival, police spoke to Anthony Vasquez, 19, who said he was sleeping on the living room floor with his girlfriend on an air mattress when at about 5 a.m. his twin brother, Jonathan Vasquez, 19, came into the house and woke himself and his girlfriend up and then started yelling at him. The argument then escalated into a “tussle,” police reported. Police then spoke to Jonathan Vasquez who said he has recently been having issues with his brother. Both men were charged with breach of the peace by assault and were released on promises to appear in court on May 16. Anthony Vasquez then gathered some of his belongings, police said, and left to stay at his girlfriend’s house for the remainder of the day.

On May 17, police observed a vehicle traveling south on Success Avenue with no front plate. A check of the rear plate showed it belonged on another vehicle. Police stopped the vehicle and the driver, Natanael Gonzalez, 30, of Bridgeport told police that the vehicle was unregistered, uninsured and that he only had an ID and no driver’s license. He told police that the plate belonged on his brother’s vehicle. The address on his ID did not match his real address, he said, and he forgot to report his change of address. A background check revealed that Gonzalez had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in Bridgeport issued in October 2010. He was charged with failure to display a front plate, misuse of a plate, no registration, no insurance, no driver’s license and failure to notify of address change. Bond was $100 and court was set for June 7. On the failure to appear warrant, bond was $100 and court was also set for June 7.

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