Among the items stolen during a manic burglary spree in Seymour in November and December — a handmade bracelet made by a child with disabilities as a gift to his grandmother.
It is a detail in an affidavit police gave as part of their investigation into a burglary spree allegedly perpetrated by Douglas Fast, a 47-year-old Stratford resident.
Fast was arrested by Seymour police Dec. 21 after police said he led them on a five-mile chase after breaking into a house on Patrick Drive, where a college student came home, noticed a strange car in his driveway and called police. Click here for more on that.
The chase ended on Route 8 near exit 19. Fast’s Ford Taurus came to a stop only because cops had tossed stop sticks on the ground, puncturing his tires. Click here for more details.
Click the video to hear audio from the pursuit.
When he got out of the Taurus, Seymour police officers ordered him to show his hands, but Fast instead spun around, got into a “combat shooting type crouch” and put his hands together as if pointing a gun.
Police thought Fast was going for a “suicide by cop,” and didn’t fire. An officer tackled Fast, knocking him to ground, the affidavit states.
Fast has 10 criminal charges pending, ranging from first-degree burglary to carrying a dangerous weapon, because police allegedly found a knife in his car.
Fast made a brief appearance in Superior Court in Milford Tuesday, where an appearance was filed by his attorney, Tina Sypek D’Amato. Fast’s case was continued until Feb. 23. He is being held on a $150,000 bond at the Bridgeport Correctional Facility.
After taking Fast into custody, police obtained a warrant to search his Stratford house, where police allegedly found a mountain of stolen items, making Fast a suspect in burglaries in surrounding towns.
The Seymour Spree
An affidavit submitted to the court by Seymour detectives details the rash of burglaries the town experienced in September, November and December. Click here to read about what Seymour police were doing to find a suspect days before Fast was caught.
- Sept 23, Great Hill Road: Stolen items included jewelry, a Sentry home safe, a Ruger .380 caliber handgun and a Glock .40 caliber handgun.
- Nov. 9, Great Oak Ridge Way: Jewelry, a Sony 40-inch television, a Samsung 32-inch television, a Sony digital camera and a Dell laptop
- Nov. 18, Falcon Drive: Jewelry, cash, a World War II fighting knife
- Nov. 18, North Benham Road: Two iPads, an iPhone, jewelry
- Nov. 22, Balance Rock Road: An HP laptop
- Dec. 5, Bungay Road: Jewelry
- Dec. 6, Silvermine Road: Jewelry and two watches
- Dec. 13, Brookfield Road: Jewelry
- Dec. 13, Bungay Road: Jewelry, cash an an HP laptop
In the Dec. 5 Bungay Road burglary, a neighbor told police she had spotted a greenish-blue Ford at the house that was broken into. Seymour police compared notes with surrounding departments and learned a vehicle with a similar description was spotted near residential burglaries in Monroe, Orange, Shelton and Trumbull.
Among the items stolen from residents — jewelry, electronics and firearms.
Authorities have said Fast was stealing items in order to sell them to get money for heroin.
The Match Game
Once Seymour police had Fast in custody and inventoried the stolen items allegedly found in his car and Stratford house, they brought in burglary victims to identify Fast’s stash.
One of the people brought in was a grandmother from Bungay Road. She recognized a Speidel bracelet with her initials on it — and another item.
A homemade bracelet, made by her grandson, who has a handicap, according to a police affidavit. The bracelet read “NANA,” according to the document.