Crime & Safety

K-9 Search Leads to Drug Citations for New Canaan Man

Arrest information is supplied by the New Canaan Police Department. It does not indicate convictions.

 A 22-year-old New Canaan man was cited for possession of less than .5 ounces of marijuana after a motor vehicle stop on Ponus Ridge yielded a search of his vehicle by Zira, the police K-9 dog, according to police.

Michael Minella also was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

According to public information officer Sgt. Carol Ogrinc, Officer Michael McFadden stopped Minella for exceeding the 30 mph speed limit on Ponus Ridge near Lake Wind Road.

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“During the stop, Zira checked the exterior and indicated an odor of drugs coming from the vehicle,” Ogrinc said.

Police found a marijuana grinder and a small amount of marijuana in the center console, Ogrinc said. In the trunk, police found marijuana pipes, a vaporizer and two more grinders, police said.

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New Canaan police arrested a town man at 6:17 p.m. on Feb. 29 and charged him with risk of injury to a minor, interfering with an officer and second-degree threatening.

With a child at home, the man reportedly threatened to kill his wife, Ogrinc said. The wife, in turn, text-messaged a friend about the incident and that friend contacted local police, Ogrinc said.

Police told the man to come directly to the police department, as he had a valid pistol permit and several weapons registered legally, Ogrinc said. However, the man tried to go home—which led to the interfering charge—and police stopped him in his car before he got there, Ogrinc said.

The man was released on $5,000 bond and scheduled to appear March 1 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.

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A 37-year-old Norwalk man was arrested by warrant and charged with failure to appear, stemming from failure to answer citations for Oct. 25 infraction offenses that included allowing a dog to roam, no rabies vaccine for a dog and failure to comply with ownership requirements.

Giovanni Alberino of Water Street turned himself in on the warrant, police said. Ogrinc said the October incident may have occurred at Waveny Park, which includes an enclosed dog park, but where dogs are not allowed to roam off-leash on trails.

Alberino was released on $250 bond and scheduled to appear March 14 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.

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A New Canaan man turned himself into police at 12:08 p.m. on Feb. 27 on criminal violation of a protective order, according to Ogrinc.

The man on Jan. 27 violated a protective order that had been in place for more than 15 months, police said.

He was released on $5,000 bond and scheduled to appear March 9 in state Superior Court in Stamford.

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A 44-year-old Ponus Ridge resident reported at 5:49 p.m. on Feb. 27 that a gift card worth nearly $500 never arrived at her house.

Police said that the J Crew card—valued at $475.38—did come through the post office in Stamford and was used at the mall in Trumbull.

The larceny complaint is under investigation.

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A Hillcrest Road resident at 9:56 a.m. on Feb. 29 reported that she never received two bathing suits she’d ordered—worth about $100 together, police said. The suits reportedly were shipped to the post office in Stamford and delivered to her New Canaan home. The larceny complaint is under investigation.


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