Cops: Stolen car driver, 4 juveniles arrested after chase, crash on Merritt
A 20-year-old Bridgeport man and four juveniles were arrested after the stolen car they were in crashed on the Merritt Parkway in Trumbull early Friday morning.
Westport police were initially pursuing the stolen vehicle, which had been the subject of a report of suspicious activity about 12:45 a.m. on Bradley Street, northbound on the Merritt near Exit 42 Merritt. The car had been reported stolen out of Easton.
During the chase, the stolen car passed through a construction area and struck another vehicle; the occupant of the vehicle was uninjured, police said.
Westport police ended the pursuit when the lead officer became stuck behind traffic. Shortly after that, the vehicle was reported crashed between exits 48 and 49 in Trumbull.
“Officers from Trumbull, Fairfield and the Connecticut State Police were on scene and immediately apprehended all five occupants,” police said. The five were transported to Westport Police headquarters where they were charged.
The driver, identified as Andre Davis, 20, of Bridgeport, was charged with four counts of risk of injury to a minor, first-degree larceny, interfering with an officer, second-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, disobeying an officer’s signal to elude/ attempted escape and operating a motor vehicle without a license.
Davis was also found to have an outstanding warrant for probation violation. He was held on $10,000 for arraignment at Superior Court in Norwalk.
A 14-year-old female from Bridgeport was issued a juvenile summons charging her with first-degree larceny and conspiracy. Since there was an active custody order for her, she was taken to Bridgeport Juvenile Detention.
At the time of the incident, a 14-year old male in the car was found to be in possession of four key fobs, one of which belonged to the stolen vehicle. He was also issued a juvenile summons charging him with firstdegree larceny and conspiracy. He too, had an outstanding custody order, and was transported to Bridgeport Juvenile Detention.
Officers said a 13-year old male in the car was the brother of the 14-year-old male. He was also charged with first-degree larceny and conspiracy before being released to the custody of his mother. The brothers live in Derby.
A 15-year-old male suspect, also from Bridgeport, was transported to the Westport Police Department and issued a juvenile summons charging him with first-degree larceny and conspiracy. He was also released to the custody of his mother.
“The teens involved in the pursuit last night had prior run-ins with law enforcement, which resulted in the orders to detain against them,” said Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas. “Yet here they are, out and about in the middle of a weeknight knowing that all they will get is a slap on the wrist from the State of Connecticut.
“We are not doing Connecticut residents or these kids any favors by denying them consequences and real opportunities to reform,” Koskinas said. “We need to work together to find a better solution before someone really gets hurt.”