Police Blotter for May 5: Alleged Shoplifter Calls Police, Claims He's Victim of Theft

The Fairfield Police Department's press briefing on Thursday included the following cases. Arrest information does not indicate a conviction.

A 46-year-old Bridgeport man accused of shoplifting batteries and gum from Super Stop & Shop in Westport was arrested in Fairfield on Wednesday after he called police and claimed to be the victim of a crime.

Police said Michael Roberts, of Union Avenue, called police and said a man had stolen his wallet while he was waiting for a bus at a gas station in the 3200 block of the Post Road in Fairfield's Southport neighborhood.

Arriving officers found Roberts across the Post Road at a Dunkin Donuts, and Roberts said the purported robber ran east on the Post Road after taking his wallet and that his wallet had $120 in it, police said.

Roberts then gave what police said was a long and convoluted story that turned out to be false. "He finally confessed and said it was lost and not stolen," said Police Sgt. Sue Lussier, a department spokesman, adding that Roberts also admitted that the name and birthdate he initially gave to officers were actually his cousin's.

Roberts also admitted that batteries and gum he had on him had been stolen from Super Stop & Shop in Westport, police said.

Roberts was charged by Fairfield Police with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and interfering with an officer. Westport officers then charged Roberts with sixth-degree larceny, Fairfield Police said.

On the Fairfield charges, Roberts was held in lieu of $500 bond and was scheduled to appear May 17 in Bridgeport Superior Court, police said.

A Fairfield University student was charged with possession of marijuana Wednesday afternoon after a university employee tipped off the university's Public Safety Department that a student had marijuana in his Jogues Hall dormitory room, police said.

Michael Deroche, 19, of Concord, Mass., turned over three marijuana cigarettes and a plastic container that had marijuana buds to public safety officers, who then contacted police, police said.

Deroche was released on a promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court May 11, police said.

An 18-year-old man found sleeping in Cumberland Farms' bathroom early Thursday was arrested on a drug charge and charges related to outstanding arrest warrants, police said.

Edgar Arsenault, Jr., of Maplewood Avenue, had an oxymorphine pill in his wallet and was charged with possession of narcotics, police said.

Police said officers then determined that Arsenault had outstanding warrants for failure to respond to an infraction and violation of probation. He was held in lieu of a total $2,200 bond on the three charges and was scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court May 16 on the drug charge and failure to respond to an infraction charge, and on June 1 in Stamford Superior Court on the violation of probation charge, police said.