Men in Ski Masks, A Joy Ride, Forged Checks, Fraud, and Hawks Hill Burglary

UPDATE: Stolen Minivan Taken By Son

Police have charged the 14-year-old son of a New Canaan resident who reported his minivan stolen from the lumberyard parking lot on Sept. 24 with operating without a license and risk of injury to a minor.  Police learned the complainant's son had taken the car and drove around in it with two of his friends.  All three youths are from New Canaan. The youth was arrested on Sept. 27. He was referred to court as a juvenile, and will appear in Stamford court on Oct. 12.

Ski Mask Leads to Marijuana Arrest

On Sept. 28 at 8:49 p.m. police received a call from a 47-year-old resident of Hillcrest Rd. who reported he was "nervous" after seeing a brown Honda Accord, with what he thought might be Kentucky license plates, parked on the street. He said the car had two male occupants and one was wearing a black ski mask. The police saw a car fitting the description traveling on Oak St., and pulled it over as a suspicious vehicle. The operator, Dorian Smith, 18, was wearing a black cap. He told officers he had been in the Springwater Lane-Hillcrest Rd. area visiting friends. Police found marijuana, a green bottle bong and two black ski masks in the car.  The driver, who is a student in Roanoke, VA, told police he and the other passengers in the car had been wearing the ski masks when they were in the Hillcrest area "because they thought it would be funny."  Smith was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He did not post bond and appeared in Norwalk Court on Sept. 29

Eleven Fraudulent Accounts Opened

On Sept. 28, a 44-year-old resident of South Ave. was notified by Wells Fargo that they were declining a credit card application for which he said he did not apply. The complainant had also received two bank cards from Bank of America for which he had not applied.  He contacted Bank of America and was told someone had opened two accounts under his name using his correct social security number.  Nine accounts had also been opened at Wachovia in his name. Both banks were notified that these acts were fraudulent. No money was lost.  The banks are investigating.

GPS System Taken from Unlocked Car

On Sept. 30, a 46-year-old Park St. resident reported that she had parked her car at 7 p.m. the previous night on the street in front of her house and the next morning discovered the glove box and center console open and a Garman GPS unit was missing.  The car was unlocked and no force was used to gain entry. The GPS unit was valued at $200.

Check Fraud

On Sept. 30 a 45-year-old New Canaan resident reported checks valued at just under $10,000 had been fraudulently cashed from her company checking account. Her signature had been forged on two checks that she said she had not written. One was for just less than $4,700 and the other just less than $4,300.  She reported no checks missing from the company checkbook and no checks had been stolen. Police suspect counterfeit checks. TD Bank closed the account and canceled all remaining checks.

Larceny at Saxe

On Oct. 1, a 38-year-old woman reported that her purse had been taken from the driveway in front of Saxe Middle School. She had parked her car at noon and returned at approximately 12:50 p.m. to find the right front passenger window had been shattered by an unknown object. The woman had left her purse on the passenger seat floor. The items reported missing are a Louis Vuitton purse valued at $1,000, a Prada wallet valued at $800, and between $400 and $500 cash.Police have requested surveillance video from Saxe's security cameras. 

Vaporizer as Drug Paraphernalia

On Oct. 1 at 11 p.m. a resident of Charles Place reported a suspicious vehicle occupied by two white males had been parked on the street for "two hours." Responding officers found two males in the car and made contact with the driver, a 17-year-old New Canaan resident.  Police report his eyes were "red and glazed over."  When asked questions, his answers were vague, and he could not provide the name or address of his passenger.  He admitted he did not live on Charles Place.  Officers noticed a long clear plastic tube tucked between the front passenger seat and console, which the passenger handed over to police. The officer detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the tube. A partially smoked marijuana cigarette was found on the back floor of the jeep. After conducting a search of the vehicle, police found a black grinder that contained what appeared to be marijuana.  Police also found a black electronic box the operator said was a vaporizer used for smoking marijuana when the clear tube is attached to it. The driver admitted that the Vaporite brand vaporizer belonged to him. The driver was charged with illegal possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.  He was released on a written promise to appear in court on Oct. 13.

Front License Plate Missing

On Oct. 2, a 47-year-old New Canaan resident reported the front license plate had been stolen from her car. She discovered the missing plate on Sept. 28 but her schedule had been too busy for her to report it sooner.  She was advised to get new plates from DMV.

UPDATE: Hawks Hill Home Burgled While Residents Sleep

As reported on Patch Saturday, residents of Hawks Hill Rd. awoke on Saturday morning to discover their home had been entered while they and their children and dogs slept. Electronics equipment and jewelry were reported missing. There was no forced entry, the door had been unlocked and the alarm had not been set. All three floors of the home had been entered.

Police said there is no evidence to support rumors that drugs had been used to incapacitate the family while the house was burgled.

"It is unusual for us to have a residence entered at night," Police Chief Edward Nadriczny told Patch. "And at the same time very concerning."

Police said they are increasing patrols in the area and ask all residents to please set their alarms when they are not at home and at night, and to report any unusual activity to them at 203-594-3500.