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DERBY – A resident accused of attacking his neighbor with a hammer is next scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 19.
Andrew Fogarty, of Derby, was arraigned Friday (Dec. 6) on charges of home invasion and second-degree assault. Both charges are felonies. Fogarty was also charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
The charges come from an incident that happened at about 3 a.m. Dec. 6, when Derby police were sent to 1015 Roosevelt Drive for a reported house fire. Fogarty owns the house at that address and lives with two roommates, one of whom was home, police said.
While heading to the scene, officers received information alleging Fogarty snuck into his neighbor’s house at 1017 Roosevelt Drive and hit a teenager with a hammer. Fogarty also owns that house, and the victim was one of his tenants.
Police also said Fogarty had taped metal plates to his body as makeshift body armor, according to a probable cause statement on file at Superior Court in Derby.
Roger Picerno is the father of the minor who was attacked. He said his son was not seriously injured and was able to hold Fogarty off.
Picerno said that Fogarty is his landlord and friend, and that Fogarty has serious mental health issues. Fogarty’s delusions are the underlying cause of Friday’s fire and assault, Picerno said.
Picerno said that Fogarty came home from work at about 2 a.m., and started a fire within 1015 Roosevelt Drive using a large amount of cardboard.
One tenant, an older man with health issues, was in the house when the fire started but was able to get out. A GoFundMe was launched to help the tenant who has been displaced.
Picerno said he ran from his house across the street to the fire at 1015 Roosevelt Drive. He said he entered the smoke-filled house to rescue Fogarty, but could not find him.
Picerno said he exited the house, and heard his son yelling “Dad, dad, stop, stop!” from his house across the street.
“So I go running across the street and when I pop open the door, there’s my son wrestling with Andrew Fogarty,” Picerno said. “Andrew’s got two hammers in his hands and my son has him held up against the refrigerator.”
Picerno said he got a gun and told his son to step back.
The two separated and Picerno held Fogarty at gunpoint until police arrived.
“I said, ‘Andrew, what the f**k? What did you do?’” Picerno said.
Picerno said Fogarty admitted setting his house on fire across the street, then asked Picerno to kill him.
“I said to him, Andrew, I’m not going to kill you. I’m just not. You’re my friend, I’m not going to kill you,” he said.
Picerno’s son was not seriously injured, despite being hit three times.
“He’s OK. He’s a big boy. The hammers are getting a CAT scan at the hospital,” Picerno said.
Fogarty has not been charged with setting the fire, which is being investigated as suspicious. The state fire marshal, the Derby City fire marshal, and Derby detectives are handling that side of the case.
