Crime & Safety

Police Blotter for June 13: Norwalk Teen, Apparently Lost, Encounters Armed Homeowner

Arrest information, supplied by the Fairfield Police Department, does not indicate a conviction

Confused teen encounters homeowner with gun

An 18-year-old Norwalk man whom a resident on Westport Turnpike in Fairfield believed was trying to break into his house early Sunday was held at gunpoint by the homeowner until officers arrived, police said.

Police said Tyler Cox, of West Rocks Road, was charged with breach of peace. He was released on a promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court June 21, police said.

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Police said the Westport Turnpike homeowner heard noises outside his house around 5:30 a.m. and thought Cox was trying to break into his house. The homeowner held Cox at gunpoint until officers arrived, police said.

Cox, whose car was parked about a half-mile away, initially refused to answer officers' questions about how he got to the house and why he was there, police said. He then told officers he had come from a party in Westport and had been drinking, police said.

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After Cox was charged with breach of peace, he was turned over to his father, police said.

Officers apparently did not believe Cox was trying to burglarize the man's house because Cox wasn't arrested on a burglary charge, police said.

Police said the homeowner had a right to have a gun. "You don't need a permit to have a gun in your home; only to carry it," said Police Sgt. Sue Lussier, a department spokesman. "People are much more prepared these days. There's a lot of guns in Fairfield."

Second arrest in staged burglary

Police on Friday afternoon made a second arrest in the alleged staging of a burglary on Garden Drive in Fairfield that was designed to get money from an insurance company, police said.

Mario Diurno, 30, of Garden Drive, was charged with falsely reporting an incident and conspiracy to commit falsely reporting an incident. He was held in lieu of $5,000 bond and was scheduled to appear June 21 in Bridgeport Superior Court, police said.

Police said Diurno came to the Fairfield Police Department to be arrested.

Diurno and his wife, who was previously arrested on the same charges, claimed about $1,600 worth of electronics were stolen from their home in a burglary on April 25. Police said there was no sign of forced entry to the house and that police determined the couple had staged the burglary in an effort to get money from their insurance company.

Drug arrest at Fairfield Railroad Station

An 18-year-old Fairfield man was arrested on drug charges late Friday after an officer saw him trying to smoke a pill on tinfoil while parked at the Fairfield Railroad Station, police said.

Luke Finlay, of Penfield Road, was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to keep narcotic drugs in their original container. He was released on a promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court, police said. His court date wasn't immediately available, police said.

Police said the officer saw Finlay lean back in his car and then saw a flash of light from a lighter. Finlay had a pipe commonly used to smoke drugs, a baggie of marijuana and 21 Oxycodone pills, police said.

More drug arrests at the downtown train station

Two Cheshire men were each arrested on a drug charge early Saturday after an officer saw a parked car with five people inside about 1:43 a.m. and went over to investigate, police said.

Michael Smith, 22, of Currier Place, and Robert McAviney, 23, of Green Hill Lane, were each charged with possession of marijuana and were each released on a promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court, police said. Their court dates were not immediately available.

Police said the officer saw McAviney holding a plastic bag and asked what it was. McAviney handed the officer the bag, which contained marijuana, police said. As Smith was getting out of the car, a small baggie of marijuana fell to the ground, police said.

Bridgeport man charged in theft of bike

A 22-year-old Bridgeport man was charged with sixth-degree larceny Sunday night after a police lieutenant saw him riding one bike while pushing another on the Post Road in Fairfield, police said.

Larry Piatt, of Courtland Avenue, was released on a promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court June 21, police said.

Police said Piatt admitted to taking the bike, valued at $96, from a residential neighborhood near Veterans Park on Reef Road.

Dispute on Sawyer Road ends with 2 arrests

A Fairfield woman and a 12-year-old were each charged with breach of peace following a dispute in the woman's Sawyer Road home on Sunday, police said.

Officers responded to a report of a loud argument in the house about 11:45 a.m., and Joanne Brennan, 35, demanded to know who called police, police said.

Brennan's shirt was ripped and a necklace had been torn from her neck, police said. The 12-year-old was struck several times by Brennan and had a small mark on the right side of her neck, police said.

Brennan was released on a promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court Monday. The 12-year-old, whose name was not released by police because she is considered a juvenile under state law, was released to the custody of a relative and was scheduled to appear Monday in Juvenile Court in Bridgeport, police said.

Necklace Swiped From Store

A necklace valued at $23 was reported stolen from Pink Lemonade Toys and Gifts on the Post Road in downtown Fairfield Friday afternoon.

Police said the necklace had been on a front counter near the cash register.


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