Torrington man gets 5 years for fleeing as part of a plea deal

TORRINGTON – A city resident pleaded guilty to a violation of probation and interfering with an officer after being arrested on drug-related charges.

Dajshon Monk, then 31, of 509 South Main St., second apartment, Torrington, was arrested April 28 and charged with possession with intent to sell, sale of a hallucinogen or narcotic, interfering with an officer, tampering with evidence, failure to use a seat belt, making an improper turn and operating a motor vehicle without a license.

He pleaded guilty Friday to the charge of interfering with an officer and admitted a violation of probation, which stemmed from a 2010 conviction on charges of failure to appear and sale of a controlled substance, according to state attorney David Shannon.

As part of a plea agreement with the state, Monk will serve four-and-a-half years in prison as a result of the violation of probation, with a one-year sentence on the interfering charge to run concurrently.

Monk was arrested after a Torrington police officer initiated a motor vehicle stop on April 28.

The officer saw Monk

and a passenger traveling without seat belts while they stopped at a stop sign, according to a probable cause report.

Monk told the officer that he was learning how to drive, did not have a license “and pulled into the driveway because he panicked when (the officer) got behind him,” according to the report.

“Monk then put both his hands in

his underwear and I told him to keep his hands where I can see them,” the officer wrote in the report. “Monk became very nervous and began pacing in circles and was not listening to my commands to keep his hands out of his pants.”

When police arrested him, Monk said he was on parole “and cannot get in trouble,” according to the report.

When police again asked him to put his hands behind his back, Monk turned around and “began to run through the back yard of 68 Linden Street and into connecting yards,” according to the report.

The officer chased Monk and saw him drop something on Clarence Street, where he was caught and arrested.

After a search, the officer found a clear plastic sandwich bag with 4.94 grams of crack cocaine and 9 bags of heroin inside, police said.

The execution of the sentence was stayed for one month at the defense’s request Friday.