Public Safety

Briefcase and iPhone Stolen Christmas Eve From Unlocked Car

Three Males Grab Items from Gas Station Convenience Store and Flee

Thieves Gift Themselves With Two Darien SUVs on Christmas Night

Efficient Bank Robber Says Nothing, Leaves No Note, Takes More Than $6K in Roughly 3 Minutes

Two Darien Businesses Burglarized the Weekend Before Christmas

Latest Slew of Unlocked Vehicles Entered, Some Pricey Loot Lifted

Police: DUI for Driver Taken to a Hospital After His Car Struck Another and Rolled Onto Its Side

Police: Threats, Social Media Posts About Potential Violence in Darien Schools Are Not Credible

A Visit From Thieves, Whose Patron Saint is St Nicholas

McNally: 43 New COVID-19 Cases This Week, Half of Town Kids Aged 5-11 Get 2nd Dose Saturday

New Town Campaign Encourages Drivers to Be Aware of Pedestrians and Cyclists

FEMA Opens Office at Noroton Heights Fire Dept to Help Residents With Hurricane Ida Storm Damage

Wallet Stolen From a Woman at Work in Darien, Bank Card Charged for Hundreds of Dollars at CVS

More Unlocked Vehicles Entered Around Town Last Friday/Saturday Night, Nov 19 to 20

For the Third Time in Nine Days, Leaf Blowers Stolen While Landscapers Worked

Darien Motor Vehicle Burglaries 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 29, 2021

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | December 29, 2021

Darien Motor Vehicle Burglaries 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 28, 2021

Bank Robbery 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 28, 2021

Burglary of a Business 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 26, 2021

Unlocked in Darien 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 23, 2021

Darien Driving While Intoxicated 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 21, 2021

Darien Police Department 2021

By DARIENITE.COM | December 16, 2021

Unlocked in Darien 2021

By David Gurliacci | December 15, 2021

CodeRed 2021

By DARIENITE.COM | December 9, 2021

Public Safety

By DARIENITE.COM | December 5, 2021

Consumer and Finances

By DARIENITE.COM | December 5, 2021

Business

By David Gurliacci | November 29, 2021

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | November 24, 2021

Theft from a Landscaper 2021

By DARIENITE.COM | November 24, 2021

News related police, law enforcement agencies, courts, as well as Darien’s fire departments, ambulance service and emergency management activities

A thief stole a man’s iPhone and briefcase on Christmas Eve from a 2016 Subaru parked outside a home on Camp Avenue, Darien police were told. It took place fast: The victim said it happened sometime from about 6:38 to 6:42 p.m. That’s only six minutes. Police were called at 7:14 p.m.

The victim said he noticed that the dome light was on in his car, which he had left unlocked. He went out to check the car and saw that the items had been stolen. SEE ALSO:

Thieves Gift Themselves With Two Darien SUVs on Christmas Night (Dec.

Three males grabbed various items from the convenience store at the gas station at 1358 Post Road early in the evening of Christmas Eve, then grabbed the items and fled in a GMC sport utility vehicle, Darien police were told. The black GMC had earlier pulled up to the pumps to get gas when three males got out of it and entered the store at about 5:45 p.m., Friday, Dec. 24. The gas station, which has a wooden bear in front of it, sits between Shake Shack and The Gardener’s Center. The males tried to dicker down the price of some items in the store, but the clerk told them the prices weren’t negotiable.

Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Two owners of sport utility vehicles each told police that their SUVs had been stolen on the night after Santa came to town. In each case, the victim said the cars were unlocked and keys were left inside. The thieves came overnight from Dec. 25 to 26, between Christmas Day and Sunday morning. Driftway Lane
A purse was also in one of the SUVs, at Driftway Lane, and the owner was notified by a bank at 2:12 a.m. that a purchase had been made in Waterbury from a bank card that had been in the purse.

At about 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for a masked male to enter People’s Bank at Goodwives Shopping Center. Not during the pandemic. What was out of the ordinary was when he jumped over the counter and began taking cash from the bank drawers — and committing what is so far at least a successful bank robbery — without saying anything or even passing a note. Darien police describe the robber as white, wearing a black mask, black hooded sweatshirt, neon orange hat and cargo pants. He entered the bank through the front door.

Darien police received reports of burglaries Saturday afternoon, Dec. 18 from two different businesses in town. One, on the Post Road, was missing some petty cash; at the other, on Old Kings Highway South, a safe was found on its side in a hallway. Police didn’t say how much petty cash was taken, or whether anything was stolen from the Old Kings Highway South location, nor did they name either business or even give its exact address. Police detectives went to each location and processed the scene for evidence.

The bizarre suburban tradition of leaving cars, SUVs and other vehicles unlocked, outside in driveways overnight resulted in some thefts of pricey items last week, although most victims told police nothing was taken. Vehicles were entered on Hillcrest Avenue (at three addresses); Clock Avenue (one); Harbor Road (three); and Driftway Lane (one). Here’s the latest rundown, all but the last one from the night of Sunday to Monday, Dec. 12 to 13. That last one, which took place the next night, is a doozy:

(Editor’s note: Darienite.com has given up on listing the exact addresses of people who’ve left their cars unlocked overnight.

Night Police Lights CT State Police on Facebook March 30-17 uploaded 06-20-17

A car driven by a 53-year-old man late Friday night hit a parked vehicle on Park Place, causing his own car to roll onto its side. The driver was taken to a hospital, and police charged him with driving while under the influence of alcohol. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

Joseph Lasko III of Stamford made a turn onto Park Place from Fitch Avenue shortly before police were called at 11:53 p.m. that night. He told police he didn’t notice the parked vehicle on the side of the road. When police arrived at the scene, Lasko was trapped in his car.

TikTok and other social media posts about possible violence on Friday in Darien schools are not credible, according to a statement released by Darien Police Department. “At this time, there are no credible threats to any school in the Connecticut school system including Darien,” said the statement from Sgt. Dan Skoumbros, the department’s public information officer. “As always, we will have police personal around our schools in town as a precautionary measure.” In a separate announcement, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley said: “The District has discussed this social media posting with the Darien Police Department.

In the weeks before Christmas, all through some nights,
Creatures are stirring, in hopes that they might,
Find a car door unlocked, and inside find keys! And then they drive off in their booty with ease. (The stockings are hung by the chimney with care,
But cars? Unlocked — as if thieves wouldn’t dare.)
As children are nestled all snug in their beds,
Handles are pulled, doors opened, and then —
SUVs, pickups and sedans are driven
On out of town, fast as Donder and Blitzen! A hard night’s day, would be 11 December:
On Kona Road, a Land Rover was stolen,
In typical fashion — unlocked and keys in.

The Delta variant continues to roll through town, with 43 more cases found this week, First Selectman Monica McNally told the town in a CodeRed statement late Thursday afternoon. Half of all Darien children ages 5 to 11 are scheduled to get their second vaccination shot on Saturday at a special town clinic, and the vaccine should be fully potent by Christmas Day, McNally said. Although the town’s Moderna booster shot clinic is fully booked on this coming Tuesday, the first selectman urged residents to try to get the shot elsewhere, and she asked for volunteers to help staff the Tuesday clinic. McNally’s full statement is below, and below that, the COVID-19 cases report from the Darien Public Schools Nursing Director Alicia Casucci and Superintendent Alan Addley:

Full Text of the First Selectman’s Message
Good evening. This is First Selectman Monica McNally with a COVID-19 update for Thursday, Dec.

Darien Police Department and other town officials have collaborated on an awareness campaign, “Th!nk Smart Before You Start” to encourage drivers to be more aware of pedestrians and cyclists as they share local roads. The goal of the townwide campaign is to reduce or eliminate accidents that involve drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Residents will start seeing Th!nk Smart Before You Start banners displayed at schools and on buildings; stickers will be showing up on the windows of stores, homes, and cars; and flyers promoting the campaign will soon arrive in mailboxes throughout the town. Darien Police Chief Don Anderson, Police Commissioner Brent Hayes, Selectman Sarah Neumann and Darien Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley kicked off the campaign at Middlesex Middle School early Wednesday morning. Anderson presented a banner to Middlesex Principal Karolyn Rodriguez while Darien police officers Mark Capelli and Lou Moura distributed stickers to parents in the parking area as they dropped off their children alongside Darien Parent Teacher Organization co-chairs Carol Kennedy and Amy O’Kane.

A FEMA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is now open in Darien to help area residents affected by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. — an announcement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Representatives from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration are available at the center to help survivors apply for disaster assistance, explain disaster assistance programs, answer questions about FEMA letters and the appeals process and provide literature about repairs and rebuilding to make homes more disaster resistant. The DRC opened at the Noroton Heights Fire Department at 209 Noroton Ave. on Thursday. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays.

A woman at work at a business on Old Kings Highway South told police that she discovered her wallet was missing when she got text messages from her bank alerting her to fraudulent charges being attempted on her account. Darien police described what happened:

Sometime between 8 a.m. and 12:47 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17, the wallet was taken from her purse. Six attempts were made to buy items with her stolen bank card, and four of them were successful. The completed transactions amounted to $425.

Some thieves who go into unlocked cars aren’t afraid to branch out and enter a garage when a garage door opener is found in the vehicle, as happened overnight from Friday to Saturday on Holly Lane. The incident was one of four reported the same day, after in the latest spate of overnight entries into unlocked vehicles in Darien. Here’s how police described each incident, all of which took place on nearby streets:
Holly Lane
A woman told police that when her husband went outside at about 7:30 a.m., he found the garage door fully open, although she had closed that door the evening before. A Huffy brand bicycle was in the garage, but it didn’t belong to anybody at the home. And the couple’s son’s bicycle was missing.

« August 2022 »

For the third time in nine days, a thief took a leaf blower from a landscaper as the landscaper was working outside a house in Darien, according to police. The first case (as reported here) took place on Saturday, Nov. 6; the second, on Monday, Nov. 8; the third, on the following Monday Nov. 15.