Bridgeport Man Breaks Into Business, Steals Cigarettes: Police

MILFORD, CT — Quick work by Milford Police officers led to the arrest of two men who are accused of breaking into a local business for $1,000 worth of cigarettes, police said.

On Feb. 5 at 1:15am, Milford Police observed the front door to Wheel’s Gas Station, 313 Naugatuck Avenue, smashed out. Officers checking the area located a suspicious vehicle driving on Naugatuck Avenue, down side roads, and then back out onto Naugatuck Avenue, police said.

A stop was made on the vehicle on Bridgeport Avenue near Naugatuck Avenue. James Graziani, 39, of High Street in Middletown, and George Hutchings, 53, of Howard Court in Bridgeport, were detained as a trash bag filled with cigarettes was observed inside of the vehicle, police said.

Video surveillance from the business was viewed and showed a male matching Hutchings
description break the glass of the door, causing approximately $1,000 worth of damage, and
enter the business, police said. The male then takes a trash bag and fills it with approximately $1,000 worth of cigarettes, police said.

As a result, both men were taken into custody and charged below:

Graziani is charged with:
Burglary 3rd
Larceny 5th
Possession of Burglary tools
Conspiracy to Commit Burglary 3rd
Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 5th
Conspiracy to Commit Possession of Burglary Tools

Hutchings is charged with:
Burglary 3rd
Larceny 5th
Possession of Burglary tools
Conspiracy to Commit Burglary 3rd
Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 5th
Conspiracy to Commit Possession of Burglary Tools
Criminal Mischief 2nd

Graziani and Hutchings were held on a $50,000 bond.