"Shots are fired at car on Interstate 91
A car traveling from Massachusetts to Connecticut was shot at early yesterday on Interstate 91 southbound in Longmeadow. The dark-blue Chevrolet Impala was a half-mile north of the Connecticut border about 2:30 a.m. when the shots were fired, according to State Police. Two people were in the car, but neither was injured. State Police did not offer a possible motive for the shooting (Boston Globe)."
"$1m bail set for Mass. Pike chase suspect
A Connecticut man charged with stabbing and kidnapping his ex-wife before leading police on a 50-mile chase on the Massachusetts Turnpike was ordered held on $1 million bail after an angry outburst in court. The Connecticut Post reported that Eric Stiggle, 39, of New London yelled at a Bridgeport Superior Court judge and struggled with judicial marshals Monday. Judge Jane Emons set the high bail and continued the case to Sept. 7. Stiggle is charged with kidnapping, assault, and other crimes (AP)."
"Conn. court upholds rearview rulings; Hanging objects in cars not illegal" by Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press | August 10, 2010
HARTFORD — Break out the small fuzzy dice, pine tree air fresheners, Mardi Gras beads, and graduation tassels.
Hanging an object from a car’s rearview mirror is acceptable under Connecticut law as long as it doesn’t distract the driver or impede the view, a divided state Supreme Court ruled in a decision released yesterday.
The 4-3 decision upholds rulings of the state Appeals Court and a Superior Court, both of which sided with Gregory Cyrus, who was pulled over in Danielson in 2006 when a trooper spotted a cross hanging from a beaded chain on his rearview mirror.
Cyrus was charged with drunken driving and driving without a license, but the courts threw out the charges after ruling the alleged evidence was inadmissible because he never should have been pulled over.
The trooper never testified that the 1 3/4-inch-tall cross and its 10-inch chain seemed to be blocking Cyrus’s vision or distracting him, and it was so small in relation to the entire windshield that it couldn’t have swung into Cyrus’s line of vision, the judges wrote.
Pulling him over just for having the item on his mirror wasn’t legal....
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"Police fault Conn. man in crash that killed trooper" by Associated Press | September 4, 2010
ENFIELD, Conn. — A 32-year-old Enfield man was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that struck a Connecticut police cruiser, killing a state trooper, police said yesterday.
Michael Pajak was speeding Thursday afternoon when the truck he was driving veered into a State Police cruiser parked in the northbound shoulder on Interstate 91 during a traffic stop, police said. Trooper Kenneth Hall was pronounced dead at a Springfield, Mass., hospital....
Connecticut State Police said Hall’s death was the 12th fatal motor vehicle accident involving a trooper or auxiliary trooper.
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HARTFORD — Thousands of police officers from across the country gathered yesterday for the funeral of a Connecticut state trooper killed in a highway crash last week that authorities blame on an impaired driver.
Officers from as far away as California and Louisiana were among the crowd assembled at the State Armory in Hartford for the funeral of Trooper Kenneth Hall.
Police and civilians lined city streets as Connecticut troopers marched to the armory accompanied by drummers....
Hall was killed Sept. 2 when a pickup truck went out of control and smashed into his cruiser after he had made a routine motor vehicle stop in the right shoulder of Interstate 91 northbound in Enfield....
What does that mean?
The pickup driver, 32-year-old Michael Pajak of Enfield, was arrested on a fugitive charge Thursday in Waterville, Vt., at the home of relatives, after Connecticut authorities obtained a warrant charging him with manslaughter, DUI, and other crimes.
Pajak was ordered held on $1 million bail yesterday during an appearance in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington via a video conference from a jail. He did not enter a plea and balked at being extradited back to Connecticut, but a prosecutor said Pajak is expected to agree to extradition at another court appearance Monday....
After the crash, Hall, Pajak, and a passenger in Pajak’s truck were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass. Hall was pronounced dead, and Pajak and the passenger were treated for their injuries.
On Tuesday, Pajak appeared in Springfield District Court on an unrelated charge of driving with a suspended license filed by Massachusetts authorities. He paid a $675 fine and was freed the same day.
Connecticut authorities had not obtained their arrest warrant for Pajak at the time of his release.
Connecticut court records show Pajak has a criminal record that includes a citation for distracted driving in May, a conviction for driving with a suspended license in 2000, and jail time for assault and drug crimes.
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"Conn. says driver who hit cruiser was on drugs
Prosecutors say a 32-year-old Enfield man was under the influence of four different drugs when he crashed his truck into a Connecticut State Police cruiser, killing a trooper. Michael Pajak was arraigned yesterday on manslaughter and other charges in the death of Trooper Kenneth Hall, who was killed on Sept. 2 while making a traffic stop on the side on Interstate 91. The Hartford Courant reported a Superior Court judge declared Pajak “dangerous to society’’ yesterday and set his bail at $1 million. He is due in Hartford Superior Court on Sept. 28. Department of Motor Vehicles records show Pajak has twice been charged with driving under the influence and his driver’s license was suspended 10 times.
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Maybe you would be better off taking the train out.
"Conn. expected to OK $260m rail aid
The State Bond Commission is expected to approve $260 million to help pay for improvements needed for high-speed trains running through Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The commission, chaired by Governor M. Jodi Rell, is scheduled to meet tomorrow at to vote to borrow the money for the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line. The $260 million is Connecticut’s match for a $220 million federal grant the state applied for Aug. 6 (AP)."
"Dean charged with assaults chooses trial
A former Connecticut boarding school dean charged with sexually assaulting four students has rejected plea deals offered by prosecutors and intends to take the case to trial. Robert Reinhardt, 45, former dean at the exclusive Gunnery school in Washington, Conn., chose a jury trial Tuesday in an appearance in Litchfield Superior Court. He remains free on $950,000 bail and is due back in court Sept. 10 (AP)."
"Prosecutors to argue cruelty in deaths of Conn. woman, her 2 children" by John Christoffersen, Associated Press | September 2, 2010
NEW HAVEN — Prosecutors plan to argue that a man charged with slaying a woman and her two daughters in a home invasion three years ago killed the victims in an especially cruel and depraved way.
Prosecutors also said yesterday that they will tell a jury that Steven Hayes posed a grave risk to police and firefighters by setting the family’s house on fire.
Hayes and codefendant Joshua Komisarjevsky are charged with killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley in Cheshire, Conn....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky are accused of breaking into the Petit home and holding the family hostage for hours before strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit. Police say the two men tied up the victims and poured gasoline on and around them before setting the house on fire and fleeing in the family’s car.
Both were arrested a short distance from the house....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky have offered to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison without parole, their attorneys say.
Oh, scum now pleading for their life?
Defense attorneys have said that prosecutors rejected the offer and want the death penalty, but prosecutors have refused to comment....
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"Trial to begin in home invasion that shook Conn. town; Survivor to testify on family’s slaying" by John Christoffersen, Associated Press | September 13, 2010
NEW HAVEN — They were a model family living in an affluent suburb. William Petit was a prominent doctor. His daughter was on her way to Dartmouth, hoping to follow in his footsteps. His wife had multiple sclerosis and the family was active in efforts to raise money to fight the disease.
But a chance encounter with a career criminal at a supermarket in July 2007 destroyed the family, authorities say. Joshua Komisarjevsky spotted Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at the store and followed them to their Cheshire home, then returned later with his friend Steven Hayes and together they severely beat Petit and killed his wife and daughters, authorities say.
The crime drew comparisons to “In Cold Blood,’’ Truman Capote’s chilling book about the 1959 murders of a Kansas family. It prompted a special session of the Legislature and spurred more residents to buy guns....
“It left the state shocked and people feeling vulnerable in the sense that it happened in a town where violence rarely occurs and it happened in a way that shook civilization, people’s idea of civilization,’’ said Rich Hanley, journalism director at Quinnipiac University....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky, two paroled burglars, are accused of beating and tying up William Petit, taking his family hostage, and forcing his wife to withdraw money from a bank.
Hayes, 47, is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Hawke-Petit. Komisarjevsky, 30, is charged with sexually assaulting 11-year-old Michaela. The two allegedly tied Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, to their beds, poured gasoline on and around them, and set the house on fire, killing the girls, authorities say....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky fled the burning home in the family’s car and were caught after ramming several police cruisers, authorities said. Hayes was wearing Hayley’s school cap, police say....
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"Judge in Conn. home invasion trial out of hospital
NEW HAVEN, Conn. --The Connecticut judge presiding at the trial of a man charged in a deadly home invasion has been discharged from the hospital.
Yale-New Haven Hospital spokesman Mark D'Antonio says 61-year-old Judge Jon Blue was released Monday.
The trial of Steven Hayes, which began last week, is scheduled to resume Wednesday in New Haven Superior Court. He and another man are charged in the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at their Cheshire home in 2007.
Another judge told prosecutors and defense lawyers in court Monday that Blue is feeling "very well," was undergoing testing and expects to return to court Wednesday.
Despite the delay, the victims' family issued a statement saying they remained encouraged by the progress being made in the case and are confident justice will prevail.
I never feel that way in America. Not anymore.
--more--"
Also see: Newly discovered 'funky' dinosaur has its Mojo working
Conn. shooting victims honored at town vigil
Conn. shelter inundated by drop-offs of stray cats
Maybe they would have need of some Boston Globes?
A former Connecticut boarding school dean charged with sexually assaulting four students has rejected plea deals offered by prosecutors and intends to take the case to trial. Robert Reinhardt, 45, former dean at the exclusive Gunnery school in Washington, Conn., chose a jury trial Tuesday in an appearance in Litchfield Superior Court. He remains free on $950,000 bail and is due back in court Sept. 10 (AP)."
"Prosecutors to argue cruelty in deaths of Conn. woman, her 2 children" by John Christoffersen, Associated Press | September 2, 2010
NEW HAVEN — Prosecutors plan to argue that a man charged with slaying a woman and her two daughters in a home invasion three years ago killed the victims in an especially cruel and depraved way.
Prosecutors also said yesterday that they will tell a jury that Steven Hayes posed a grave risk to police and firefighters by setting the family’s house on fire.
Hayes and codefendant Joshua Komisarjevsky are charged with killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley in Cheshire, Conn....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky are accused of breaking into the Petit home and holding the family hostage for hours before strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit. Police say the two men tied up the victims and poured gasoline on and around them before setting the house on fire and fleeing in the family’s car.
Both were arrested a short distance from the house....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky have offered to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison without parole, their attorneys say.
Oh, scum now pleading for their life?
Defense attorneys have said that prosecutors rejected the offer and want the death penalty, but prosecutors have refused to comment....
--more--"
"Trial to begin in home invasion that shook Conn. town; Survivor to testify on family’s slaying" by John Christoffersen, Associated Press | September 13, 2010
NEW HAVEN — They were a model family living in an affluent suburb. William Petit was a prominent doctor. His daughter was on her way to Dartmouth, hoping to follow in his footsteps. His wife had multiple sclerosis and the family was active in efforts to raise money to fight the disease.
But a chance encounter with a career criminal at a supermarket in July 2007 destroyed the family, authorities say. Joshua Komisarjevsky spotted Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at the store and followed them to their Cheshire home, then returned later with his friend Steven Hayes and together they severely beat Petit and killed his wife and daughters, authorities say.
The crime drew comparisons to “In Cold Blood,’’ Truman Capote’s chilling book about the 1959 murders of a Kansas family. It prompted a special session of the Legislature and spurred more residents to buy guns....
“It left the state shocked and people feeling vulnerable in the sense that it happened in a town where violence rarely occurs and it happened in a way that shook civilization, people’s idea of civilization,’’ said Rich Hanley, journalism director at Quinnipiac University....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky, two paroled burglars, are accused of beating and tying up William Petit, taking his family hostage, and forcing his wife to withdraw money from a bank.
Hayes, 47, is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Hawke-Petit. Komisarjevsky, 30, is charged with sexually assaulting 11-year-old Michaela. The two allegedly tied Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, to their beds, poured gasoline on and around them, and set the house on fire, killing the girls, authorities say....
Hayes and Komisarjevsky fled the burning home in the family’s car and were caught after ramming several police cruisers, authorities said. Hayes was wearing Hayley’s school cap, police say....
--more--"
"Judge in Conn. home invasion trial out of hospital
NEW HAVEN, Conn. --The Connecticut judge presiding at the trial of a man charged in a deadly home invasion has been discharged from the hospital.
Yale-New Haven Hospital spokesman Mark D'Antonio says 61-year-old Judge Jon Blue was released Monday.
The trial of Steven Hayes, which began last week, is scheduled to resume Wednesday in New Haven Superior Court. He and another man are charged in the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at their Cheshire home in 2007.
Another judge told prosecutors and defense lawyers in court Monday that Blue is feeling "very well," was undergoing testing and expects to return to court Wednesday.
Despite the delay, the victims' family issued a statement saying they remained encouraged by the progress being made in the case and are confident justice will prevail.
I never feel that way in America. Not anymore.
--more--"
Also see: Newly discovered 'funky' dinosaur has its Mojo working
Conn. shooting victims honored at town vigil
Conn. shelter inundated by drop-offs of stray cats
Maybe they would have need of some Boston Globes?
