Westport carjack suspect’s bond raised

WESTPORT — The fourth, and final, suspect charged in connection to a carjacking that left a 64-year-old Uber Eats driver with a traumatic brain injury earlier this month had his bond raised in court Wednesday afternoon.

Tayvion “Riz” Hart, 18, of New Haven, appeared remotely before Judge Gary White at Stamford Superior Court on Wednesday on charges of first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, first-degree assault on an elderly person, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault on an elderly person, first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny.

Detective Jonathan Lauria wrote in a warrant for Hart’s arrest that one of the 18-yearold’s alleged co-conspirators identified Hart as the person who incited the carjacking in front of Golden Pizza, 1759 Post Road East, around 7 p.m. March 5.

After a multi-town police car chase that day— a chase that ended with three people arrested but a fourth who escaped — Hart was arrested on March 11 on unrelated charges stemming from an incident in New Haven. He has been held in lieu of a courtset $250,000 bond in the New Haven case.

During Wednesday’s arraignment, a bail commissioner recommended that the court consider lowering his bond to $75,000.

Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Moran asked that the court raise Hart’s bond to $500,000, given the serious nature of the alleged carjacking. She said the victim in the case suffered “very serious injuries.”

“My understanding is that she will recover, Your Honor, but she was in the ICU last time I checked,” Moran said.

According to Hart’s warrant, the Uber Eats driver left her Hyundai running outside as she went into the pizzeria to grab an order, but when she returned, she found a person police later identified as Hart inside her car.

The driver tried to stop the man from escaping in her car, but was thrown to the ground in the process and dragged along the street by the escaping vehicle, according to the warrant.

Moran also cited several serious pending cases in other jurisdictions, including several felony gun and larceny charges, as well as allegations that Hart recently cut off a GPS monitoring bracelet before failing to appear for a court appearance.

Attorney April Pramer, an assistant public defender at Stamford who represents Hart, said that some bond was appropriate given the facts of the case, but asked the judge to consider her client’s age before making a decision.

“I’d ask the court to consider that he is just 18 years of age. He certainly has some serious charges pending, but there are no criminal convictions,” said Pramer.

White ultimately sided with Moran, setting the bond at $500,000.

Hart’s case was transferred to the court’s Part A docket, where the district’s most serious matters are heard.

He is next scheduled to appear in court on April 6.

Hart’s three co-defendants — 18-year-old Giovanni Abreu and two unnamed juveniles — are also charged with two counts each of first-degree robbery and first-degree assault of an elderly victim, and single counts of firstdegree larceny, third-degree larceny, criminal possession of a firearm, sale, delivery or transfer of a firearm and stealing a firearm.

Police wrote in reports that Abreu and the two juveniles were driving in an Acura that was reported stolen earlier in the day in Hamden.

In two separate cars, Abreu and Hart led police on a highspeed chase up Interstate 95 until around Exit 29 where Abreu crashed and the three were arrested, police said.

Officers also recovered a loaded gun in one of the cars, according to the report.

Abreu is next scheduled to appear in court on April 6. The two juveniles’ cases are still pending before Bridgeport’s Juvenile Court.