DNA be darned, man accused in New London sex assaults wants trial
Accused serial rapist says he won’t accept plea offer
Monte P. White, identified through DNA as the person who broke into the homes of two New London women and raped them at gunpoint in the fall of 2017, told a Superior Court judge Tuesday that he wants a trial, and he wants it soon.
As for the DNA, which police say links him also to a third sexual assault in Torrington, White, 34, says it’s inconclusive.
Groton City
Dante F. Walters, 22, of no certain address was charged Sunday with violating probation.
William Macer, 18, of 106 Michigan Drive was charged Monday with third-degree larceny, failure to illuminate a headlight, driving without a motorcycle license, driving an unregistered vehicle and misuse of plates.
Christopher Charles Guiteras, 23, of 95 Vauxhall St., New London, was charged Monday with third-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
Groton Town
Robert Nicoll, 32, of 66 Midway Oval was charged Tuesday with cruelty to animals.
New London
Cynthia Lee Andrews, 44, of Kent was charged Tuesday with first-degree failure to appear in court.
Leatoya Richardson, 41, of no certain address was charged Tuesday with prostitution, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to keep a narcotic in its original container.
Fernando Mora Cepeda, 23, of 9 Norman St., Waterford, was
He is not expected to formally notify the court that he is rejecting a plea offer until his next court date, on Sept. 6, but White stood before Judge Hillary B. Strackbein in his orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs and told her that’s what he wants. He addressed the court against the advice of his attorney, Matthew G. Berger.
“I’m definitely going for a trial,” he said. “A speedy trial. I’m not taking no offer. We’ll put everything on the table.”
He went on to say there are “rude” things going on with his case, and that the victims charged Tuesday with patronizing a prostitute.
James McKinnon, 56, of no certain address was charged Sunday with sixth-degree larceny, assault on an officer and interfering with an officer.
Norwich
Christopher Lemieux, 28, of 101 Cliff St. was charged Monday with disorderly conduct and third-degree assault.
State police — Westbrook
Stephanie Smith, 53, of 34 Rowland Road, Old Lyme, was charged Sunday in Old Lyme with failure to carry a driver’s license, evading responsibility, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and failure to drive right.
Cameron Jeffrey Kane, 21, of 20 Dellwood Road, Norwich, was charged Friday in Old Lyme with driving without a seat belt, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and improper parking.
Theodore Cox, 50, of 135 Blydenburg Ave., New London, was charged July 25 on a warrant with fifth-degree larceny.
David Keith Spalty, 45, of 586 W. Thames St., Apt. 204, can’t even identify him.
“I don’t see why I’m still here,” he said. “I got family waiting for me.”
Prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman has made White an undisclosed offer to resolve his New London cases with a guilty plea. Should he be convicted in the New London cases after a trial, he faces up to 140 years in prison for four counts of aggravated first-degree sexual assault, two counts of home invasion and risk of injury to a minor. Police said a child was present during one of the alleged crimes.
Norwich, was charged July 18 in Middletown with using a vehicle without permission.
Brian Sibley, 26, of 59 Black Ash Road, Oakdale, was charged July 16 in Westbrook with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and failure to drive in the proper lane.
Stonington
William C.L. Hardy, 18, of 1382 Pequot Trail was charged Monday with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace.
Waterford
Gabriel Moya, 19, of 187 Huntington St., New London, was charged with having weapons in a vehicle, failure to obey a control signal, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Daniel Ruiz, 20, of Fairfield was charged with having weapons in a vehicle.
Gary Dionisi, 70, of Longmeadow, Mass., was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and passing on the right.
Police logs reflect arrests, not convictions. For the outcomes of criminal and motor vehicle arrests, visit bit.ly/CTConvictions.
The Torrington case, in which he is charged with aggravated first-degree sexual assault, home invasion, first-degree unlawful restraint and third-degree assault is being tried separately in the Litchfield Judicial District and exposes White to an additional 50 years in prison.
Police said DNA swabs taken during a forensic examination of the female victims matched DNA from White, whose genetic material is in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. DNA samples are taken from all convicted felons in Connecticut, and White pleaded guilty to a felony drug possession charge in 2010.
The alleged crimes in New London occurred on Hawthorne Drive in October 2017 and Nautilus Drive in November 2017. Both women said they were awakened by a man in their bedroom who held a gun to the back of their head and sexually assaulted them. Fingerprint impressions lifted from a sliding glass door also implicated White in the Nautilus Drive crime, police said.
Torrington police say DNA linked White to the April 26, 2017, attack on a woman in her High Street home. She, too, was sleeping when she woke to find a man, armed with a knife, in her apartment, police said.
After his courtroom statement Tuesday, Judge Strackbein told White he is entitled to a trial. A man in the gallery said, “Love you, boy,” and White reciprocated as he was led back to the courthouse holding area. Arrested in December 2017, he is being held in lieu of $1.45 million at the Northern Correctional Institution.