Police: Fugitive wanted in 19 CT towns captured

WEST HARTFORD — Two men, one of whom was the subject of 21 outstanding arrest warrants in two states, were apprehended Saturday night as they left a local mall after fraudulently purchasing nearly $2,000 worth of merchandise, police said.

West Hartford Police Capt. Daniel Moffo said the men were identified as Rondell A. Jackson, 36, of Middletown, and

Dezmond A. Bonds, 31, of Manchester. Both men were charged with first-degree forgery, conspiracy to commit first-degree forgery, fourth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit fourth-degree larceny.

Bonds, who fled from police before his arrest, was also charged with interfering with an officer, Moffo said.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday, the West Hartford Police Department’s Patrol Division was informed that a vehicle wanted in connection with multiple crimes in Connecticut and Massachusetts had been located in the lower-level parking lot of the Westfarms mall near Macy’s, according to Moffo.

The presumed driver, Bonds, was suspected of criminal activity in West Hartford earlier that day as well as months earlier, Moffo said.

Patrol officers conducted surveillance and watched as Bonds and another person, later identified as Jackson, exited the mall, according to Moffo. Police apprehended Jackson immediately and apprehended Bonds after a brief foot chase, Moffo said. Investigators also recovered approximately $1,900 worth of suspected counterfeit money, approximately $1,701.94 worth of merchandise suspected of being fraudulently purchased and prepaid debit cards suspected of being fraudulently purchased, Moffo said.

Bonds was wanted on outstanding arrest warrants from 19 Connecticut municipalities and two Massachusetts towns at the time of his arrest, according to Moffo. He was also wanted by the New Haven Department of Correction as a fugitive from parole.

Following the arrests, West Hartford police notified the U.S. Secret Service New York Field Office due to the involvement of counterfeit money, Moffo said.