The following information was supplied by the Monroe Police Department. No arrested person is guilty until so judged in a court of law.
DUI on 110
A Trumbull man was arrested for DUI while driving on Route 110 (Shelton Road) in his '95 Mercury Villager at around 12:34 a.m. on Nov. 24.
Paul Souza, 42, of Bayberry Lane was charged with DUI and failure to drive in the proper lane. He was released on $1,000 bond for a Dec. 4 court date.
Officers driving behind the Mercury Villager saw the minivan swerving in its lane — coming within inches of the guard rail at one point, according to the report. Police said the officers activated their overhead lights just west of the Monroe-Shelton town line, but that Souza did not stop his vehicle until he was approximately a half mile over the line into Shelton.
Souza reportedly told an officer that he was swerving because he was looking at his GPS, but police said there was a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on him and that his speech was slurred. Souza said he had a beer or two earlier, according to the report.
Field sobriety tests at the scene led to Souza's arrest and the results of two breath tests at headquarters showed blood alcohol levels over the legal limit, police said.
Police said an officer can make an arrest for a violation in their town, even when a driver crosses the town line, and notifies the neighboring police department when the offense is a felony, which was not the case here.
Another DUI Arrest
A Trumbull woman was arrested for DUI at around 2 a.m. on Nov. 22 after police said officers saw her driving her 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee on Route 110, crossing over the double center line and weaving within the lane with her turn signal on for long period of time without turning.
Police said officers who pulled over the jeep on Hurd Avenue detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on Alyssa Cellini, 20, of Gatehouse Road and said she seemed a little confused about her location.
Field sobriety tests determined Cellini was under the influence and two breath tests showed a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, according to police.
Cellini was charged with DUI and failure to drive in the proper lane. She was released on $500 bond for a Dec. 3 court date.
Narcotics Arrest
A Wild Horse Court Road man was arrested for narcotics possession Nov. 21 after a traffic stop on Pepper Street at around 8:57 p.m., according to police.
Adam Bartlett, 20, was also issued an infraction for driving an unregistered vehicle and given a verbal warning for traveling too fast for conditions. He was released on $1,000 bond for a Nov. 29 court date.
Police said officers driving south on Pepper Street saw Bartlett turning east onto Garder Road in his 2003 Honda Civic at a high rate of speed, causing dirt to kick up. When the officers activated their overhead lights, police said they had to follow the Honda for four-tenths-of-a-mile before Bartlett stopped.
The vehicle had not been registered since December of 2011, according to police, who said there was a strong odor of marijuana on Bartlett, who told officers he had smoked in the car earlier but that there was nothing inside.
Police canine Liberty did an air scent search on the vehicle and alerted officers to a glass marijuana pipe under the back seat, a marijuana grinder in the trunk, and a small purse in the front center console of the car, according to police.
Police said the purse contained a small plastic bag with a clear crystal substance known as MDMA — a methamphetamine, another clear ziplock bag with MDMA and marijuana residue and a clear glass vial with white powder residue.
Tree On a House
A Pepperidge Road resident told police at 12:09 p.m. Nov. 24 that a tree fell across the roadway, taking down power lines and damaging the siding on his house and his garage. Police said the tree appeared to have been cut, but that it was unclear who cut it.
The homeowner said work was done on the tree after the last major storm, as if it would be cut down, according to the report.
Pizza Purchase Denied
A Meadows End Road resident told police Nov. 25 that he was contacted by the Chase Bank Fraud Division and told that someone had tried to order a pizza from Papa Johns in Bridgeport using his Chase Sapphire credit card number over the phone.
However, when the address on the card did not match the address given for the delivery, police said the pizza parlor contacted the card owner and denied the sale.
A Stolen Jacket
A $165 North Face jacket was reported stolen at around 1:08 a.m. on Nov. 25 by a patron of Buffalo Bill's Steakhouse on Main Street, who told police he left his jacket on a bar stool inside the restaurant for 10 minutes, came back and it was gone, according to the report.
Police said the bartender had the band make an announcement, but that the jacket was never returned.
Lights Out ... Again
A West Maiden Lane resident told police he was in bed when he heard a loud noise at around 11:12 p.m. on Nov. 24, lost his power and heard footsteps running away from his house. After going outside, he found that someone had torn off the lock on his electric meter box and turned off the master power switch, according to the report.
He told officers there were two similar incidents earlier in the month, so he had put his own padlock on the box, which had been broken off, police said.
A 1,561 Fraud
A Gaylor Drive resident told police Nov. 24 that several unauthorized purchases were made on his Wells Fargo Visa debit card totaling $1,561.
The seven transactions were made for online purchases of $223 each on Nov. 15, 19, 20 and 21 with two purchases made on the 23rd and another pending from the 26th, police said, adding all of it was done on Facebook.
Police said the victim, who had his card on him the whole time, canceled the card and that Wells Fargo is investigating the matter.
