Man, 24, Charged With Trying To Steal A Truck From Gas Station

EAST HAVEN, CT — Police have arrested and charged a 24-year-old in connection to with attempted robbery in March at a Frontage Road gas station.

According to East Haven Police Lt. Joseph Murgo, on March 31, police were called to Xpress Fuel after a woman called 911 to report that a white man around 5’4” wearing a red and gray sweatshirt had just attempted to steal her idling pickup truck while she was making a purchase at the window.

When cops got there, she told them she was "able to get her vehicle back from the male suspect after a struggle, which resulted in an accident in the parking lot."

She told police that while she was at the station window, she saw the suspect, who she'd seen standing by the side of the building when she pulled in, get into her unlocked pickup truck and try to drive away. She said "once she realized someone was in her car, she ran to it and ordered the suspect out." He didn't get out instead, put the truck in reverse and then forward several times while she was hanging on in an attempt to knock her off the vehicle. She did not let go and was able to reach into the truck to open the door from the inside. She said when she opened the door, the man jumped out of the truck while it was still in gear and moving and took off on foot. The truck, still moving, struck a guardrail before she was able to gain control of it again.

Through the investigation, police said a "suspect was quickly developed." A warrant for Nicholas Gambardella, 24, of a presently unknown address, was obtained and taken into custody at the Quality Inn motel on East Frontage Road.

Gambardella was charged with criminal Attempt at Robbery in the Third Degree, Criminal Attempt at Larceny in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, and Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree. He was held on a $75,000 bond.