Shopper Spots Monroe Man in Her Car at Milford Mall

A shopper at the Westfield Shoppingtown/Connecticut Post Mall Sunday night got a big surprise as she returned to the parking lot: a man inside her car, police said.

When the woman approached the stranger, he claimed he thought the vehicle belonged to a relative — and then fled the scene in another vehicle, according to police.

The woman's description of the man's car led investigators to find that vehicle and the suspect at a motel in Milford, police said.

The man, identified as Sergio Riccardi, 28, of Monroe, was charged with third-degree burglary and criminal attempt at larceny in the sixth degree, according to police.

He was being held in lieu of $10,000 bond, police said.