When police officers questioned one of the drivers involved in a traffic accident at 10:42 p.m. on Saturday, he wouldn’t identify himself, then he asked officers if they knew anything about “hydraulics” and pointed to the stick shift, and officers concluded he was having trouble using it, police said.
The police account, which includes accusations not proven in court, indicates that the traffic accident may have been the least of what was going on that night.
Arrest photo from Darien P.D.
Diamond Samuel, 24, was charged with two counts of burglary and stealing a motor vehicle.
Police noticed the driver, Diamond Samuel, 24, was wearing hospital scrubs and a hospital bracelet. Asked where he was coming from, the Brooklyn resident pointed to a house on Lakeside Avenue. Police determined that the vehicle was owned by a resident there.
The homeowner arrived at the scene shortly after police did. The homeowner said she did not recognize Samuel as anyone she knew. She said she typically leaves her car keys in the kitchen.
While inside her home, the homeowner told officers that a drink on a table wasn’t hers, an iPad was missing with a white case (which Samuel was holding). Samuel was also wearing a white jacket that belonged to the woman.
Police determined that he had entered the home through an unlocked door, took the keys and stole the car before crashing it.
Police charged Samuel, of Lincoln Parkway in Brooklyn, with third-degree burglary, larceny of a motor vehicle, second-degree criminal trover (for driving off in the stolen car without permission) and fourth-degree larceny. He was held on a $10,000 bond and appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford, where his bail was raised to $25,000. He didn’t pay it. Samuel is scheduled to appear again in the same court on May 30.
(Police did not explain why he was wearing hospital scrubs and hospital bracelet, or how they eventually found out his name and address.)