STAMFORD — A city man with a previous drug conviction faces new charges after police say he was found this week with 34 bags of a brand of heroin known to have been causing recent overdoses.
James Higgs, 51, of Stillwater Avenue, was charged Wednesday with possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics with intent to sell. He is being held in lieu of a $2,500 court appearance bond.
Capt. Richard Conklin said Narcotics and Organized Crime investigators applied for a search warrant for Higgs’ apartment when they learned he was selling heroin.
Conklin said police seized the 34 bags of heroin stamped X-it. Conklin said this brand of heroin has caused several overdoses in the area and may be laced with Fentanyl.
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Stamford man faces drug charges
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Three seriously injured in Stamford crash
STAMFORD — Three people were seriously injured Sunday morning in a car crash on Interstate-95 Southbound.
A Stamford man was driving in the right lane between Exits 9 and 8 around 1 a.m. Sunday when he drifted into the right shoulder and hit the the metal guardrail multiple times, according to state police. The car then climbed up over the guardrail and hit a tree.
The driver, Joseph Anthony Cavaliere, 27, and passengers, Meredith Raus, 28, and Adam Godlewski, 27, all from Stamford, were seriously injured and sent to Stamford Hospital, according to police.
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Gold buyers license suspended in Stamford
STAMFORD — Police have suspended the license of a precious metals buyer accused of failing to report its purchases since opening in the mall six months ago.
Property Crimes Sgt. Sean Scanlan said the precious metals license issued to American Coins and Gold at the Town Center mall has been suspended until Oct. 15. He said he doubted the business would reopen.
Scanlan said the business failed to provide weekly reports on who sold coins, gold and silver to the store as required by state law. Scanlan said the business also illegally offered cash for those items. He said state law requires precious metals buyers to only issue checks as payment.
The manager of the store, Stuart Cooper, 26, of Staten Island, N.Y.
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Stamford man charged with cabbie robbery
STAMFORD — A city man who police say robbed a cab driver at gunpoint made off with some cash, but left his ID card behind.
A USA Taxi driver told police he was robbed after taking a man from the Stamford train station to Southwood Square about 3:40 a.m. Sunday. The cabbie said the man pulled the gun when he asked for the about $8 in fare, police said. The cab driver gave the man about $80 in cash and the robber walked away, police said.
Police said they found an identification card in the cab belonging to Jihad Amir.
Investigators realized Amir was a city man who changed his name from Shawn King, 46, of Washington Avenue.
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Stamford man gets 10 years for sexually assaulting child
STAMFORD — A Guatemalan man who admitted to sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl he was babysitting will spend 10 years in jail before he’s deported.
Douglas Hus-Flores, 20, of Stamford, declined to say anything as he stood Monday before Judge Gary White, who handed down the minimum sentence for first-degree sexual assault. Public defender Howard Ehring said his client, who came to the United States two years ago, will be deported after he serves his sentence.
White also issued a 50-year protective order preventing Hus-Flores from having contact with the child until September 2067.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Maureen Ornousky said Hus-Flores knew the victim, but declined to provide specifics about their relationship.
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Oregon man charged with home improvement fraud in Stamford
STAMFORD-An Oregon man was extradited from his home state over the weekend for allegedly collecting deposits from three Stamford residents in 2013 and fleeing without performing any work.
John Mech, 56, of Astoria, Oregon, was charged with three counts each of third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit larceny and impersonating a licensed home contractor. At his arraignment at the Stamford courthouse Monday afternoon, Judge Richard Comerford ordered that he be held in lieu of a $50,000 court appearance bond.
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Stamford man found with more counterfeit bills
STAMFORD-A city man who was caught trying to pass counterfeit bills last week and then ate a receipt being kept by police as evidence of his crime, was arrested again for allegedly being in possession of more than two dozen phony bills.
Eugene Lyles, 56, of Willowbrook Court, was charged over the weekend with 27 counts of first-degree forgery, three counts of attempted first-degree forgery and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Lyles, who has 30 convictions in the state of New York for a wide range of offenses including possession of counterfeit bills, was ordered by Judge Richard Comerford to be held in lieu of a $50,000 court appearance bond.
Capt. Richard Conklin said after Lyle’s arrest at the Ridgeway Shopping Center on Aug.
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Court appearances today for alleged Comunale killers
STAMFORD-Two men accused of stabbing Stamford’s Joseph Comunale with a knife and then cutting him up and burying him in a shallow grave are appearing in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday.
James Rackover, 26, and Lawrence Dilione, 29, will be appearing with their attorneys in hopes of having prosecutors answer their motions charging that the murder investigation was botched and their clients wrongly accused.
The attorney for Max Gemma, 29, of Jersey City, who was roommates with Dilione and accused of trying to cover up the crime, has written a letter to the judge accusing the murder detectives altering the record to make it look like his client is guilty.
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Stamford police thwart armed robbery in park
STAMFORD — A city police officer interrupted an armed robbery in a downtown park this week.
Sgt. Jennifer Pinto said two people collecting cans and bottles in Rotary Park, just south of Tresser Boulevard on Greenwich Avenue, said they were approached by two teenagers on bicycles just after 5 p.m. Monday.
One of the youths asked the man for $5. When the man refused, the youth pointed a gun at him and the other suspect pulled out a knife, Pinto said.
However, a police officer driving on Greenwich Avenue spooked the suspects, who fled south toward Richmond Hill Road on their BMX bikes, Pinto said.
Pinto said officers swarmed the area, making a number of stops, but were unable to find the suspects.
jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.
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Carpet cleaning spill causes havoc at Davenport in Stamford
STAMFORD-Davenport Ridge Elementary School may have a delayed opening following a carpet cleaning spill at the school that happened earlier in the morning.
Buses are being rerouted for their drop-offs and parents bringing their children to the school on Newfield Avenue are being asked to use a different driveway.
A truck from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is on its way into the school at this time.
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Stamford police union files complaint about officers carrying Narcan
STAMFORD — The city’s police union has filed a labor complaint because officers are now required to carry a life-saving drug that’s not included in their contract.
Members of the Stamford Police Department began carrying Narcan in July after the city experienced a spike in overdoses, including three in one day over the summer.
The unfair labor complaint was filed last week with the state Board of Labor Relations, but Police Union President Kris Engstrand said his members do not object to carrying Narcan.
“We welcome carrying a new tool that can help out not only our members, but the public, too. We welcome the opportunity,” he said. “But this is an additional workload and so it is the subject of bargaining.
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Abandoned car call helps Stamford police find two loaded pistols
STAMFORD-A call about an abandoned car on Stamford’s East Side led police to two loaded guns early Tuesday evening.
Capt. Richard Conklin said police got a call on Tuesday evening about an abandoned motor vehicle parked in front of 138 Custer Street.
Officer Christopher Felman-Merced responded but was unable to find out any information about the vehicle by calling in its license plate.
Looking through the unlocked car for a registration, the officer found two pistols in the center console.
One pistol was a Versa .380 caliber that had eight rounds in its magazine and one round is believed to be in its chamber. The chamber has been locked, so police cannot open it.
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Stamford man charged with roadside assault
STAMFORD-A city man was charged Wednesday with an August roadside assault and beat-down that left a Stamford man with a badly broken jaw.
Richard Jeter, 22, of Strawberry Hill Avenue, Stamford, was charged with second-degree assault.
Sgt. Paul Guzda said a 24-year-old man was walking on North Street near Cloonan Middle School late in the afternoon on August 5 when a while vehicle pulled over.
A man got out and ran at the pedestrian and began punching him. Guzda said the victim began fighting back but the man was soon thrown to the ground where he was punched in his face and head over and over again.
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House to try again on 2-year state budget
State legislators will try again Friday to approve a state budget that could slap a new surcharge on cellphones, imposes a fee to take an Uber ride and reduces a key exemption that lowers income taxes.
House members went home early Friday morning without taking a vote on a $37.5 billion, two-year budget.
Democratic leaders attributed the delay to writing final language and said they had the votes in the House and Senate to pass the budget. They warned massive, mandatory cuts to towns and cities would come after Oct. 1 under executive orders issued by Malloy.
Republicans sent their members home early Friday morning after saying Democrats hadn't put together enough votes to pass the budget.
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Man grazed by bullet in Stamford park
STAMFORD-Police say a city man was grazed by a bullet fired Thursday afternoon inside Carwin Park, but investigators have not been unable to find any witnesses to the crime. Police say that the 25-year-old man, who showed up at the Stamford Hospital emergency room and was treated and released, is not cooperating with investigators. Sgt. Chris Broems said a Narcotics and Organized Crime squad member received information just after midafternoon Thursday that someone had been wounded by a bullet in the West Side park. Police were sent to the park immediately, but found it deserted. Broems said that the man did not tell hospital employees how he received the wound to one of his shoulders and so police were not called.
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State budget offers pathway to highway tolls
HARTFORD — The new state budget before the House and Senate provides a pathway to electronic tolls on state highways.
The spending plan creates the Connecticut Transportation Finance Authority, which includes an appointed board of directors and an executive director. Along with overseeing transportation projects and making recommendations, the board can explore and implement tolling.
“The authority may authorize the use of electronic tolling systems along limited access highways to accomplish its purpose and set the specific geographic area to be tolled along such limited access highways,” the legislation says.
The authority would operate the tolls, hire vendors and sign agreements with the federal government.
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Contractor charged with stealing from dead man
STAMFORD — A Redding contractor has been accused of stealing nearly $40,000 from a Glenbrook man shortly before he died last year.
John Gallo, 37, has been charged with first-degree larceny and was released after posting a $25,000 court appearance bond.
Gallo’s attorney, Mark Sherman, said his client did not commit a crime and he expects the charges to be resolved quickly.
“The evidence in this case will reveal that all of the dealings between these parties were at arm’s length and pursuant to valid contractual agreements,” Sherman said. “Mr. Gallo is an experienced and licensed contractor who continues to do quality work for his customers throughout Fairfield County.”
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UConn said approved state budget will destroy it
HARTFORD — A budget approved early Saturday by the state legislature would decimate the state’s flagship university, its president said in a statement. UConn President Susan Herbst sent out a message to the university community saying the approved state budget would cut UConn and UConn Health by $309 million over the next two years — $185 million for UConn and its campuses and $124 million for UConn Health. “The level of the cut is unprecedented and would be devastating for UConn, higher education in Connecticut and the state as a whole. Herbst said the cut would mean the closure of regional campuses and multiple academic departments and colleges. Majors and programs would be eliminated.
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State budget debacle points to power shift, with GOP resurgent
HARTFORD — With Gov. Dannel P. Malloy likely to veto the $40 billion Republican budget narrowly approved by the House and Senate, the General Assembly is back where it started and maneuvering in shifting political sands.
“You have to take the party patch off or this will never work,” said House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz after his Democratic budget went down in flames early Saturday due to the defection of four caucus members.
“The [Republican] budget is more of a political document — they know it can’t be implemented,”Aresimowicz said. “Let’s get serious about negotiations.”
State Rep.
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Stamford middle school principal resigns
STAMFORD — Jason Martin, principal at Rippowam Middle School, is stepping down. A letter from Martin was posted on the Rippowam website Friday evening. “As many of you may or may not know, I live in NY City with my wife and three young children,” he stated. “Frequently, my wife and I contemplate decisions that we feel will benefit our family and place us in better circumstances. This is one of those decisions and one that does not come easily.” Martin will be a high school principal in Floral Park, N.Y. “Please know that my heart will always be with Stamford not only because of the intense learning I encountered but more so due to the relationships I have cultivated,” he stated. “There is no doubt that I will miss it all.
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