Police responding to a burglary in progress Tuesday arrested two men, including one who they found sitting on the toilet inside the ransacked apartment.
The call came in at 4:18 p.m. from a witness who said two men were breaking into a multi-family home on Englewood Avenue. The caller stayed on the phone with the dispatcher providing updates until officers arrived.
Within about 10 minutes, two men were in custody.
Some of the arriving officers went to the rear of the property where one of the burglars fled and began following tracks in the fresh snow.
Officer Richard Agosto then climbed through the same forced-open window used by the burglars and opened the rear door for other officers. Agosto and Sgt. Mathew Cosgrove began a room-by-room search and stopped when they encountered a closed door. When they opened it, they found a man sitting on the toilet.
Samuel Sanders, 24, of Meriden, claimed to be a victim and that he was glad police came when they did. He said he ran and hid in the bathroom when he heard someone breaking in. While he stated that he didn’t live there, he said he knew the owner who lets him stay there.
His ruse didn’t hold up. Police contacted the owner, who said he didn’t know the man and that no one should have been in the house. Sanders was then arrested.
Meanwhile, other officers were searching the area looking for the second suspect. Officer Paul Scillia detained a man, later identified as Johnnie Newkirk, 38, of Bridgeport, a few blocks away. A witness then identified him as one of the men who broke into the house.
Police recovered a pillow case filed with items inside the apartment. Newkirk and Sanders both were charged with second-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and interfering with police.
Bond was set at $50,000.
The call came in at 4:18 p.m. from a witness who said two men were breaking into a multi-family home on Englewood Avenue. The caller stayed on the phone with the dispatcher providing updates until officers arrived.
Within about 10 minutes, two men were in custody.
Some of the arriving officers went to the rear of the property where one of the burglars fled and began following tracks in the fresh snow.
Officer Richard Agosto then climbed through the same forced-open window used by the burglars and opened the rear door for other officers. Agosto and Sgt. Mathew Cosgrove began a room-by-room search and stopped when they encountered a closed door. When they opened it, they found a man sitting on the toilet.
Samuel Sanders, 24, of Meriden, claimed to be a victim and that he was glad police came when they did. He said he ran and hid in the bathroom when he heard someone breaking in. While he stated that he didn’t live there, he said he knew the owner who lets him stay there.
His ruse didn’t hold up. Police contacted the owner, who said he didn’t know the man and that no one should have been in the house. Sanders was then arrested.
Meanwhile, other officers were searching the area looking for the second suspect. Officer Paul Scillia detained a man, later identified as Johnnie Newkirk, 38, of Bridgeport, a few blocks away. A witness then identified him as one of the men who broke into the house.
Police recovered a pillow case filed with items inside the apartment. Newkirk and Sanders both were charged with second-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and interfering with police.
Bond was set at $50,000.
