An employee of Whole Foods Market went outside the store on Saturday to have lunch with a 27-year-old Stamford woman that the employee knew, but the woman brought three female friends with her and the group assaulted the employee, according to Darien police.
Police gave this account of what happened, including accusations not proven in court:
At 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, a person driving by called police to tell them that there was a fight taking place in the parking lot of the supermarket at 150 Ledge Road.
Officers went to the scene, but didn’t see anyone fighting. A witness told police he saw four females attacking the victim, whom police were able to find and talk to.
(In an increasing practice for Darien police, the police announcement did not say whether the victim was a male or female or an adult or child.)
Officers responded to a fight in progress at Whole Foods, the caller was a third party driving by who stated they witnessed the altercation.
The victim told police that he or she went to the parking lot to have lunch with Michelle Gilchrest. The victim saw Gilchrest had brought several females with her.
An argument started between Gilchrest and the victim, and it escalated into a fight between the victim and the others. The victim received minor injuries (police didn’t say that an ambulance was called or that the victim went to a hospital).
Police contacted Gilchrest, who met with officers at Darien Police Headquarters. She admitted that she struck the victim.
Gilchrest, of Spruce Street in the West Side section of Stamford, was charged with third-degree assault and breach of peace. She was issued a misdemeanor summons to appear in court on April 6.
On Wednesday, April 8, two days after that court date, a search of the Connecticut Judicial Branch website showed no results for a woman with that last name and first initial.