Bridgeport men charged in Westport store burglary
WESTPORT — Two Bridgeport men were arrested Wednesday in connection with a breakin that took place in July 2020.
According to police reports, officers responded to the Merritt Country Store on Main Street for a burglar alarm activation about 3:25 a.m. on July 11, 2020.
Police said the first arriving officers found the front door had been forced open and the business had been burglarized. The store’s owner stated nothing appeared to be missing, but there was $2,000 worth of damage from the forced entry, police said. The officers were able to view surveillance footage, which they said showed two men enter the store and leave about a minute later.
About 5 a.m. that morning, a police officer in a neighboring community interrupted a burglary in progress and police said the suspects fled in a small pickup truck.
The vehicle, which was occupied by two men, was pursued by Norwalk and Westport officers, but police said the chase was stopped for safety reasons. During the pursuit, police said one of the occupants tried to throw items from the truck at the officers in an attempt to slow them down.
Police said the detective assigned to the Westport case worked with neighboring communities who also experienced commercial burglaries that morning and was able to develop Terell Hendrick, 27, and Carlos Ortiz, 32, as suspects.
Based upon the investigation, warrants for the arrests of Hendrick and Ortiz were completed and signed by a Superior Court Judge and both men were arrested by Westport police on Wednesday.
Hendrick was charged with third-degree burglary, sixth-degree conspiracy to commit larceny, first-degree criminal mischief, disobeying the signal of an officer, and
throwing objects at a motor vehicle. He was held on a $100,000 bond and was arraigned Wednesday at Stamford Superior Court. His case was continued to Dec. 1.
Ortiz was charged with third-degree burglary, sixth-degree conspiracy to commit larceny and first-degree criminal mischief. He was held on a $10,000 bond and was arraigned Wednesday at Stamford Superior Court, where his case was continued to Jan. 12.