Police Reports: Ford with Toddlers Aboard Swerves, Nearly Strikes Oncoming Traffic

Crash leads to DUI

Officers responded to a complaint of gunshots on Stanley Road  at 7:29 p.m. Sunday. The call didn't check out, but while they were there a Jeep Liberty drove by and crashed into a snow bank, according to the report.

The driver, Blair McLaughlin, 54, of North Main Street in Southbury had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on him and field sobriety tests determined he was under the influence, police said.

McLaughlin was charged with driving under the influence and bond was set at $500 for a March 1 court date.

Domestic incident

 At 9:23 p.m. on Thursday, police received a complaint of a suspicious person, using a porch bench to break down the door of a house on Millo Drive.

The suspect, David Salamacha, 54, who lives there with his ex-wife, was gone by the time officers arrived, but police applied for an arrest warrant, according to the report.

Then at 4 p.m. on Saturday officers saw Salamacha's vehicle parked outside the address and arrested him without incident. He was charged with third-degree criminal mischief and breach of peace. He was held on $25,000 bond and brought to court Monday morning.

DUI, risk of injury

Police received a complaint of a white Ford EPR crossing over the double yellow line on Monroe Turnpike at 5:16 Saturday night and officers found it near Stop & Shop, according to the report.

The Ford crossed over the center line and nearly collided with oncoming traffic before officers stopped the vehicle, police said.

The driver, Alejandro Martinez-Penaloza, 28, of Grand Street in Bridgeport, had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on him and glassy bloodshot eyes, police said, adding he told officers he had one beer.

Another Bridgeport man, 29, was sitting in the front passenger seat and his two daughters, ages 2 and 5, were secured in child-safety seats in the backseat.

Martinez-Penaloza was charged with driving under the influence, risk of injury to a minor and failure to drive in the proper lane. Bond was set at $1,500 for a March 2 court date.

Assault at a party

St. Vincent's Medical Center called police at 4:50 a.m. Saturday after a 16-year-old male assault victim was admitted with a swollen left eye and lacerations to his face and knee.

The Trumbull youth told police he and his friends were hanging out at the Trumbull Center when they heard about a party in Monroe. But he also said he was unsure whose house it was and whether it was actually in Monroe, according to police.

At the party, another male he knows — though he would not tell officers how — approached him and they argued before the suspect attacked him for an unknown reason, police said.

Shoplifting arrest

A Derby man was arrested on a Monroe warrant for allegedly shoplifting after being picked up by police in Darien Saturday afternoon.

Pablo Romero, 24, of Emmett Avenue was charged with sixth-degree larceny and bond was set at $150.

On Oct. 12, a clerk at Walgreen's, 275 Monroe Turnpike, saw a shoplifter steal an $8.79 12-volt dual USB charger at about 5:44 p.m., according to the report. Police said the clerk was able to describe Romero because he is missing part of one of his ears.

Wanted: A Good Samaritan

A Sandy Hook woman lost an envelope containing $1,600 in $100-bills on Friday. She believes it may have fallen out of her pocket at the shopping center at 525 Main Street.

She told police she checked the parking lot and talked to employees in all of the stores, but to no avail.

Police said she made the report in hopes that a Good Samaritan will find the money and turn it in. Anyone who finds it is encouraged to call the Monroe Police Department at 203-261-3622.

'Pretty stupid huh?'

A 29-year-old Stoneybrook Drive man told police he ran into two men he used to work with when he went out drinking on Saturday night and that one of them left his cell phone in his truck.

The next morning, the two men showed up at his house to get the phone at 5 o'clock. After giving them the phone, police said the homeowner saw them "messing around" by his son's truck.

Later, he found the rear license plate was missing and called police.

When officers spoke with the suspects, a 22-year-old New Milford man and a 21-year-old Brookfield man, police said the Brookfield resident said, "Oh yeah, we took it as a joke. Pretty stupid huh?"

No charges were filed.