Gun stolen in Stamford, owner faces criminal charge

STAMFORD — Police have leveled a misdemeanor criminal charge against a Plymouth, Conn., man for improperly storing his gun, which was stolen from inside his unlocked vehicle over the weekend, police said.

The thief apparently did not want to keep the loaded semiautomatic firearm. The gun was found by a citizen who reported it to police Monday morning, police said. The gun was recovered.

Anthony Mineo, 36, was charge with improper storage of a firearm.

Capt. Richard Conklin said Mineo was in Stamford on Sunday night having dinner with friends and ended up parking his Toyota Tacoma on the 100 block of Main Street on Sunday afternoon. He returned at 12: 30 a. m. Monday and drove home to Plymouth, just north of Waterbury.

It wasn’t until Monday morning that he realized that the Northface backpack he had on the front passenger floor was missing. Inside the pack was a laptop, some cash and his Sig Sauer .380 semiautomatic loaded with eight hollow- point bullets, Conklin said.

Mineo immediately reported the theft to Stamford police and told them that while he thought he locked the vehicle, there were no signs of forced entry and he may have left the truck unlocked, Conklin said.

While Mineo was making the report, a citizen found a Northface backpack on the ground in a Summer Street alleyway. The laptop was there as well as the loaded Sig Sauer, Conklin said. The money was missing.

The person who found the backpack saw police working a construction job and told them about the discovery and the laptop and gun were recovered, Conklin said.

“The good news is that the gun that was stolen is recovered, due to the quick reporting of a citizen and nobody is hurt,” Conklin said.

Even if Mineo had locked his car, he could still have been charged, Conklin said.

“There is a new law in the state and does not allow you to leave your pistol even in a locked vehicle. You have to have a secondary locking mechanism, such as a locked storage box, safe or cable that goes through the pistol that is locked in place,” Conklin said.

Mineo was released on a written promise to appear, but his pistol permit was seized and sent to state police to determine whether it will be revoked, Conklin said.