LEDYARD POLICE CHARGE THREE PEOPLE IN HOME INVASION IN JULY
Ledyard — Police have arrested three people in connection with a July 20 home invasion at a Smith Pond Way residence that resulted in the theft of 15 handguns.
Police have each charged Kylie Pierson, 36, of 10 Gilmour St., Norwich; Kristal Lis, 27, of 11 Velvet Lane, Mystic; and Mitchell Ellerbe, 31, of Hartford with home invasion, conspiracy to commit home invasion, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery.
Pierson and Ellerbe were also charged with second-degree larceny. Pierson and Lis were each charged with stealing a firearm. Pierson was also charged with use of a motor vehicle without owner’s permission, and Ellerbe was charged with criminal possession of a firearm.
The victim told police in July that two men with at least one handgun entered his home and forced him to the floor at gunpoint. The men left with 15 handguns, the victim’s cellphone and other electronic devices.
Ledyard Police Lt. Ken Creutz said Pierson was arrested on Nov. 13 while Ellerbe and Lis were charged in court on Monday. After Pierson’s arrest, police were hopeful two more were coming, so they waited to announce the three together.
Creutz said some factors in apprehending the perpetrators included securing statements from the victim, cell phone records, and DNA evidence found at the scene.
“We are not done with the investigation,” Creutz said. “There is a possibility that there was one other person involved.”
After the July 20 incident, police described the suspects as two black men and one white women, but the arrestees are a black man, white man and white woman. making a threat to shoot up “the school” tomorrow. The tweets did not specify which school.
A private company that monitors Internet activity reported the tweets to East Lyme Police around 6 a.m., Finkelstein said. Police immediately reported the account, but it remained on Twitter as of late Monday afternoon.
The Day is not reporting the name of the person being impersonated, to protect her privacy and safety. Finkelstein said police have spoken with the girl being impersonated.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to figure out is why somebody continues to target her, because it’s the same girl on the Instagram account in October and the Twitter account here,” the police chief said.
Early in the morning on Monday, Oct. 9, the same girl was contacted on Instagram by an account using her name; the account said it would make a bomb threat against East Lyme High School under her name.
Finkelstein said police are working with social media providers to get Internet provider address information.
Upon learning of the threat on Monday morning, police “provided extra patrols and visibility at the schools to keep the environment safe and deter any possible threat that could possibly happen,” Finkelstein said, but school operations were otherwise unaffected.
Early Monday afternoon, Superintendent Jeffrey Newton sent out a letter to parents about the threat.
“Again, this was a fictitious posting and all of our schools remain safe,” Newton assured in the letter. “Our ELPS security team members and the East Lyme Police Department continue to work collaboratively to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”