Public Safety
Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Three Vehicles Entered Overnight Dec 18 to 21 on Holmes Ave

By |
Download PDF

Three Holmes Avenue residents told police their vehicles were entered sometime from Sunday to Wednesday, Dec. 18 to 21. Police said some change and a basketball hoop were taken, and one victim reported seeing a suspect. The incidents occurred from the east end of Holmes Avenue, near its eastern intersection with West Avenue and elsewhere along the street up to an area near the intersection of Holmes Avenue and Holmes Court, about a third of a mile away. Overnight thefts from motor vehicles have been reported in the area several times in recent months (see below for previous stories).

Public Safety

Darien Police: Leaving Your Car Running is a Bad Idea & Can Be Against the Law

By |
Download PDF

We know the frigid weather is on its way, but never leave your car running while unattended.  With the cold gripping much of the nation, thousands of drivers are starting their cars and leaving them idling for a few minutes while they warm up on cold mornings. 

________________
— an announcement from Darien Police
________________
The Bad Idea Part
It’s a bad idea even if you are planning to make just a quick stop somewhere. Many vehicle thefts are crimes of opportunity, and a person could decide to make off with your vehicle if they see that it is empty and has the engine running. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says that one out of every five stolen vehicles had keys in them, while nearly half of vehicles were unlocked when stolen. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, most of today’s cars do not require more than 30 seconds to warm up.  An idling car can burn as much as a half-gallon of gas in an hour, so turning the car off is more fuel efficient and causes less air pollution. The Against-the-Law Part
Did you know you might be violating the law?  In an effort to protect our air, environment and health, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) adopted a regulation in 2004 that prohibits vehicles of all kinds from unnecessary idling for more than 3 minutes.

Public Safety
Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Vehicles Outside Four, Maybe Five Homes Entered Overnight on Two Darien Streets

By |
Download PDF

Vehicles were entered overnight from Sunday to Monday, Dec. 4 to 5 on two streets in town, not far from each other but not very close either. A Macbook Pro was taken from one vehicle, a couple of pairs of sunglasses from another. The burglaries took place on Birch Road and Rocaton Road. There was no sign of forced entry, and all of the vehicles appeared to have been unlocked.

Public Safety
Marcus Colon arrest photo Hamden Police 912-08-16

Stamford Man, 22, Arrested in Hamden, Charged with Theft of Darien Car, Other Property

By |
Download PDF

Hamden police say that when an officer found an unoccupied, stolen Darien car parked Tuesday at Sleeping Giant State Park, a 22-year-old Stamford man and two other people later got in it. Hamden police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

Marcus Colon, 22, one of the three people who got in the car (the others were a male and a female, Lovello said), was charged with stealing the vehicle and some of the stolen items in it, which police identified as having come from “numerous” burglaries in Stamford. Darien police detectives are looking into whether any of the items found in the car were stolen in Darien burglaries, Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello told the town Police Commission on Wednesday. Lovello said a male and a female who got in the car with Colon were also arrested, but Hamden police did not confirm that in their news release. ____________

See also:

Car Stolen from West Avenue Recovered by Hamden Police, Three Arrested (Dec.

Public Safety
Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Car Stolen from West Avenue Recovered by Hamden Police, Three Arrested

By |
Download PDF

Two males and a female were arrested by Hamden Police on Wednesday after they were found in a 2010 red Hyundai Sonata which was stolen from a West Avenue condominium building’s parking lot, according to Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello. “The vehicle contained what appears to be a very large amount of proceeds from other crimes, so the [Darien] Detective Bureau is working on that,” Lovello told the Darien Police Commission at its meeting Wednesday. More information is expected to be released at Monday’s police news briefing. The car had been parked in the lot unlocked and with the keys in it by the owner at 3 p.m. on Nov. 1.

Public Safety
Darien Police SUV on Road

Unlocked Car Entered on Lake Drive, Thief Scared Off by Alarm and Resident

By |
Download PDF

When a man in a Lake Drive home heard an alarm late Saturday night, he went out the front door to see a thief sitting in the man’s unlocked 2014 Honda Accord. When the thief — described as a white male, about 20 years old, wearing khaki pants and a dark colored hoodie — realized he’d been seen, he ran off. The incident occurred at about 10 p.m. and was reported to police by 10:15 p.m.

Nothing was taken from the car and police didn’t see the suspect. Police asked neighbors if they saw or knew of anything related to the incident, but no one had.

Public Safety
Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Thefts from Four Motor Vehicles Across Darien Saturday, Another Reported Friday

By |
Download PDF

In four spots around town, motor vehicles, all apparently unlocked, were entered Saturday or overnight from Friday to Saturday, Nov. 11 to 12, Darien police said.  

The vehicles were parked in various places around town — Intervale Road, Revere Road, Noroton Avenue and the parking lot of Darien Ice Rink — and police know nothing to indicate that the incidents are related, although the locations on Noroton Avenue and Revere Road are not far from each other. In a fourth incident last week involving a theft from a motor vehicle, a laptop was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked at Darien High School on Election Day, Nov. 8, when school was not in session.

Public Safety
Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Unlocked Car Stolen Overnight on West Ave, Cars Entered Nearby on Park Lane

By |
Download PDF

Someone stole a red 2010 Hyundai Sonata parked outside the condominium building at 410 West Ave. overnight from Nov. 1 to 2, and on nearby Park Lane, near the Stamford border, at least two unlocked vehicles were entered. Darien police gave this account:

At 3 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1, the owner parked the car in the lot behind the building, didn’t lock it and left the keys in it.