Shelton police believe a former Ansonia man extradited from Florida Saturday is responsible for a string of car burglaries throughout the area.
The man, Richard Ortiz, 40, formerly of Cedar Street, was charged over the weekend with a laundry list of crimes, including:
- Two counts of third-degree burglary
- Two counts of conspiracy to commit third-degree burglary
- Two counts of illegal use of a credit card
- Fifth-degree larceny
- Conspiracy to commit fifth-degree larceny.
According to police, Ortiz and another suspect would break into cars parked by females at fitness centers and local shopping centers.
“The suspects would break the window of a car after the female driving parked and left their pocketbooks in the car,” according to a press release from Shelton Detective Ben Trabka.
The thieves would then take the cash and credit cards from the pocketbooks, go to Target and Walmart stores, and buy electronics with the purloined cards.
Police have a warrant for the other suspect, but did not identify him in the press release.
Ortiz was held on bonds totaling $20,000 over the weekend and was arraigned Monday (August 6) at Superior Court in Derby.
There, Judge Burton Kaplan more than septupled those bonds, to a total of $150,000, after learning Ortiz had an extensive criminal history, was extradited from Florida, and may have his cases transferred to Milford Superior Court, which handles more serious cases.
A bail commissioner said in court that Ortiz had convictions dating back to 1991 on various charges including robbery, failure to appear in court, and weapons possession.
In addition, police in Derby, Milford, Stratford, Trumbull, and the state of Georgia are pursuing charges against Ortiz. He’ll likely be charged in the Connecticut cases at his next court date, August 20.
Police from Shelton, Stratford, Derby, Milford and Trumbull worked cooperatively on the case, according to the police, who believe Ortiz and the other suspect fled the state after realizing police were on their tracks.
Ortiz was captured in Florida after a routine car stop. Trabka said Monday police believe the other suspect isn’t in the area.
In the press release, police asked that women lock their purses in the trunk of their cars prior to parking at fitness centers.
Anyone observing suspicious activity in parking lots is urged to call police immediately.
