Street Robbery/Feb. 14
Hamden Police responded to a street robbery on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. A 70-year-old Hamden resident said she was walking southbound on Mix Ave. when two men got out of a brown Jeep Cherokee and shoved her to the ground. They stole her handbag, which held her money, cell phone and keys.
Police are still looking for two 30-year-old black males, both wearing dark clothing. The brown Jeep Cherokee, which had been reported stolen, was later found, abandoned in New Haven.
Street Robbery/Feb. 13
A man in a small blue sports utility vehicle reportedly robbed a 39-year-old Hamden woman on the 1400 block on Dixwell Ave. in the early afternoon on Feb. 13. The woman said the suspect, a light-skinned black man, pulled up in front of her on the sidewalk in a vehicle driven by another person. After blocking the woman’s path with their car, the suspect got out of the vehicle and proceeded to punch her in the head, successfully grabbing the woman’s purse.
The suspect returned to his vehicle and drove away southbound on Dixwell, at a high speed.
Armed Robbery/Feb. 13
Hamden police responded to a robbery at the 7-Eleven at 1795 Dixwell Ave. at approximately 6 a.m. on Feb. 13. The suspect ordered an employee behind the counter to the ground, holding a firearm to the back of the employee’s head, while demanding another staff member to empty the cash register. According to the statement, he ran away on foot toward Lee Street.
Police said witnesses and employees described the man as a stocky black male with distinctive red and white shoes. There is no additional information regarding the crime’s current status.
A robber stole a vehicle with a six month old inside that was parked outside of a store on the corner of Dixwell Ave and Woodin St on Feb. 8. The vehicle owner had gone inside the store and left the vehicle running. After the suspect entered the vehicle, they drove out of the parking lot, heading southbound on Dixwell Avenue toward New Haven.
After authorities were notified, Central Communications was in the process of broadcasting an Amber Alert. About an hour after the initial police report, a Yale University officer found the stolen vehicle with the infant unharmed inside around 1 Whalley Ave. The unnamed suspect was taken into custody.
Arrests from Citgo Gas Station Robbery/Feb. 7.
Hamden police arrested five men on Feb. 7 after two separate armed robberies and a vehicle chase throughout Orange, West Haven and New Haven. The suspects were charged with various accounts of robbery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree, carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal alteration of a firearm, larceny in the first degree and engaging an officer in pursuit and reckless driving. Police named four of the men arrested, all 18 years old — Justice Bryant, Frankie Tyson, Mekhi Phelmetta and Timaree Fields — and the fifth was a 17-year-old juvenile.
Police responded to the first robbery at 1:14 a.m. at Citgo Gas Station at 1978 State St. in Hamden. Citgo employees said three armed gunmen approached them when they were taking out the trash and forced them back inside. Two of the suspects held guns to the head of an employee while ordering him to empty the cash register. The three men then fled on foot toward Franklin Rd.
Forty minutes later, police responded to a second armed robbery at Krauszer’s Food Store on 2008 Whitney Ave. that mirrored the scene of the first robbery. When Officer Eric Hallstrom found the suspects’ vehicle, which was reported stolen in Wallingford on Feb. 6 at the Phillips 66 gas station at 1655 Litchfield Tpke in Woodbridge, the suspects drove away, “nearly colliding” with Hallstrom’s vehicle.
Hallstrom pursued the men throughout Orange, West Haven and New Haven until the suspects stopped in Hamden at an intersection, fleeing into nearby residential yards.
The four adult men are scheduled to appear at the superior court in Meriden on April 5.
