It didn’t take long for Ansonia police to develop John Filippone as a suspect in the July 15 robbery and assault of a 78-year-old Tremont Street woman.
Why?
Filippone grew up about 200 yards from the woman’s house and she had known him since his childhood. She told police she recognized his distinctive voice during the robbery.
The woman also told police Filippone had been at her house about a month before, inquiring about renting the second floor.
Police arrested Filippone, 60, Monday (July 22) at the Veterans Hospital in West Haven, charging him with first-degree burglary, first-degree unlawful restraint, third-degree assault of an elderly person and sixth-degree larceny in the case.
He was arraigned Tuesday (July 23) at Superior Court in Derby, where a bail commissioner said Filippone has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1972, with convictions on charges including larceny, assaulting police officers, narcotics possession, and assault.
Filippone also has four cases currently pending at Superior Court in Derby, dating from April 14 to July 6 of this year, on charges including threatening, breach of peace, interfering with officers, and disorderly conduct.
Prosecutor John Kerwin called the new allegations against Filippone “very troubling” and noted the pending cases while arguing for a $350,000 bond for Filippone Tuesday.
“This defendant is a risk to the community,” Kerwin said, adding later: “He continues to offend while out on release.”
Public Defender Jonathan Gable said Filippone, whose last known address was on Perry Avenue in Shelton, is “essentially homeless” and would be unable to post any bond.
Judge Lee set Filippone’s bond at $250,000, saying that “the necessity of protecting the community comes into play,” and continued the case to Aug. 6, at which point it will likely be transferred to Superior Court in Milford, where more serious cases are handled.
The judge also ordered Filippone not to have any contact with the woman whose home he’s accused of burglarizing.
‘You Don’t Know Me!’
According to an arrest warrant for Filippone written by Ansonia Police Detective John Rafalowski, the 78-year-old Tremont Street woman told police she was asleep in her house early Monday when she was woken up by a “clicking noise” coming from her kitchen.
She got up and went to investigate and was confronted by a man. Both of them yelled, after which the man yelled “You don’t know me!” at her.
He then forced her to look away from him, pushed her into her bedroom, and made her lie face-down on the floor.
The man told the woman he had “10 guys with me,” the woman told police, and kept her on the floor by pressing his foot into the back of her neck.
The man eventually took her purse, after which he said he was going to check on the other men he said were with him at the time and left the woman’s bedroom.
After a few minutes the woman called out to see if anyone was still in the house, then got up and realized the burglar had left.
She also told police the burglar had left a red cigarette lighter in her bedroom.
‘Very Distinctive’ Voice
The warrant says the woman identified Filippone as the perpetrator almost immediately.
“While the suspect was speaking to her she recognized his voice to be that of John Filippone, who she has known since he was a child growing up in the neighborhood,” the warrant says.
The woman said Filippone has a “very distinctive” low voice, but she did not call out his name during the robbery out of fear he would seriously harm her.
She also said Filippone had been at her house four to six weeks before the burglary, and had asked to rent the second floor of the property.
An Ansonia police officer located Filippone about six hours after the burglary on Elizabeth Street in Derby, at which point he told police he had been hanging out with a friend until about 10 p.m. the night before and had slept at Osbornedale State Park because he’s homeless.
He also told police he had spent time that morning around an Ansonia car dealership near the woman’s Tremont Street property, as well as a Pershing Drive gas station, though he couldn’t give them a definitive timeline of his whereabouts.
The evidence against Filippone continued to mount last Thursday (July 18), when a man called police identifying Filippone as the burglar and saying Filippone had asked the man to give him an alibi.
The man also told police that Filippone asked him to tell officers he had sold a red cigarette lighter to “crackheads” because he feared he had left it in the woman’s house.
The warrant says the man played a voicemail on his phone for Rafalowski and Detective Sgt. Patrick Lynch, both of whom recognized the caller’s voice as Filippone.
“It’s me, ahh tell em I was up at Osborndale 2:30 in the morning with you, OK it’s very important, all right bye,” the message said, according to the warrant.
