DERBY — Police charged five juveniles in connection to three separate investigations into car burglaries and auto thefts.
According to a statement from police, a hilltop neighborhood resident called police at 3:30 a.m. Friday saying there was a vehicle moving slowly through the neighborhood. Derby patrol officers were in the area and responded. The vehicle took off.
Police briefly pursued the vehicle but called it off because of safety concerns. Police in Orange found the vehicle abandoned on Route 34. Its engine had apparently seized.
A short time later two juveniles from Ansonia and Shelton, ages 15 and 16, were spotted walking near a golf course looking like they had just emerged from the woods.
Derby police said they were able to connect the pair to the stolen vehicle, and they were charged with a number of larceny and burglary crimes.
The names of juveniles charged with crimes are not released to the public under state law. The court proceedings are closed to the public.
On Sunday at 6:30 a.m., another hilltop resident called police to report that juveniles were in the neighborhood pulling on car-door handles. Police arrived and charged two 16-year-olds from Ansonia with attempted burglary.
On Monday at 1:30 a.m., police spotted several juveniles entering cars on Anson Street. The vehicles’ owners did not want to press charges, police said.
On Monday at 5:30 a.m., a stolen vehicle crashed into a residence on Cherry Street. The driver left the scene before police arrived. A suspect connected to the vehicle was apprehended a short time later near Anson Street. Ansonia police assisted with the search.
“One 16-year-old juvenile from Derby was connected to the vehicle and charged with conspiracy to commit larceny as well as threatening, interfering, and assaulting a police officer after he spat in the investigating officer’s face,” police said.
Police also reported that two vehicles stolen from Derby were recently discovered in Ansonia.
The arrests come after a constant string of complaints in the lower Valley about vehicle break-ins. Derby police, in a release last week, urged residents to lock their vehicles. Seymour has started a task force to address the problem with state police.
Derby police thanked the public for their help.
“One word of CAUTION: Please do NOT confront any individuals. We received information from one of the investigations that one or more of the suspects may have been armed with a gun,” police said. “Call 911 and be the best witness by noting physical descriptions and, most importantly, clothing. The latter turned out to be an important piece of evidence in one of the investigations.”
