Southport 'Shooter' Fired Pellet Gun, Not Rifle

[Editor's Note: Arrest information is supplied by the Fairfield Police Department. It does not indicate convictions.]

A Fairfield man was issued an infraction Wednesday after a call to police reported a teen wearing camouflage and holding a gun was heading into the open space between Hulls Highway and the Post Road, police said.

Upon responding to the scene, police found William Matson, 18, shooting a pellet gun into the Sasco River-Kirik open space, police said. The responding officers first found his vehicle and determined it was registered to an Arbor Terrace resident, who also had registered firearms in his home, department spokesperson Sgt. Sue Lussier said.

Police set up a perimeter around the open space, and Officer Kevin Wells responded with K-9 Ruger. A Stamford K-9 was on the scene as well, Lussier said.

The officers heard a loud bang and walked in the direction of the found and found Matson with what looked like a rifle. They ordered him to put his weapon down; he complied, Lussier said.

Matson was issued an infraction for discharging a firearm in an open space, violating town ordinance, Lussier said. A pellet gun is classified as a firearm in this case.

Matson told police he was just waling around the woods shooting things, and he often goes duck hunting, Lussier said. He also admitted that there may have been marijuana in his vehicle, though Ruger and the Stamford canine searched and did not reveal any narcotics, Lussier said. The responding officers, however, reported smelling the odor of marijuana in the car.

Matson was issued a fine for the infraction.

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A Flintlock Road resident reported to police on Wednesday that sometime overnight on Friday, Dec. 9, a package left on her doorstep was cut open and its contents taken, police said.

The homeowners also saw a large package left outside of their garage on Saturday morning but did not take it inside immediately, Lussier said. When they returned home that evening, the package was gone.

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An Aberdeen Way resident reported to police on Wednesday that he had seen a white female wearing a knitted cap near his home on Thursday, Dec. 8, and that she had been on a bicycle, leaning over a bench and examining something, according to the report.

The resident later found an empty package near the bench, where the woman had been earlier.

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A Melody Lane resident reported to police on Wednesday that she had been scammed out of $2,576 over the phone, police said.

Someone pretending to be her grandson called the woman and told her he needed $2,400 for bail because he had been arrested in Bridgeport on drug charges, Lussier said. The caller put an Officer Roger David on the phone who confirmed the incident with the woman. They told her to wire the money to Mexico City, where the bail bondman lived, according to the police report.

The woman went to Western Union to wire the money -- she ended up wiring $2,576 -- to a Gloria Bauer in Mexico City, Lussier said. She had been told to call the grandson back at a number he gave her when she was finished. The call would not go through.

The woman called the number she had for her grandson and found that he was at school in Danbury, not arrested in Bridgeport, Lussier said. Police also determined that there is no one named Roger David who works for the Bridgeport Police Department.

This is under investigation.

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According to police, a white male entered the Seven Eleven at the gas station on the Post Road late Wednesday, walked right behind the counter, and took three cartons of cigarettes.

He told people in the store “tonight’s a bad night, a bad night for you,” before leaving and heading toward Pease Avenue with $275 worth of merchandise, Lussier said. He was gone when police arrived.

The suspect is a white male, 6’4”, with a thin beard, wearing a blue hoodie, a black jacket, and jeans, Lussier said.

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A Middletown man was arrested on Wednesday and charged with credit card and illegal use of a credit card when it was discovered he was allegedly making fraudulent charges on a company card for Brit-Air, a Fairfield HVAC repair company, police said.

Joshua Springer, 23, reportedly had been asked by a friend who works for Brit-Air to help the company move from Norwalk to Fairfield over the past summer, Lussier said. Police believe that is how he got a hold of the company card.

Brit-Air employees realized someone was making fraudulent charges when the bill came in with charges that were thousands of dollars over the usual bill, police said. They also noticed the charges had been made at Home Depots in Middletown, Berlin, Southington, and Wallingford; the company only uses the Home Depots in Norwalk and Fairfield.

Police were able to identify Springer and investigated Home Depot surveillance tapes, Lussier said. His condition of release and court date were not available at the time of this report.

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