Man Accused Of Burglarizing 5 Fairfield Restaurants

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Bridgeport man is accused in a string of Fairfield restaurant burglaries believed to be connected to similar crimes across the state, police said.

Daniel Oler, 48, is charged with five counts of third-degree burglary, according to a news release from the Fairfield Police Department.

"This was great investigative work by our department and I would like to thank the other local departments who assisted in the investigation," Chief Christopher Lyddy said in the news release. "Our business owners in Fairfield work extremely hard and hopefully this will put an end (to) these types of break-ins."

Law enforcement started receiving reports in late January about a rash of overnight burglaries, in which the suspect broke in by spinning the locks on the front doors of the businesses. Similar crimes had been occurring throughout Connecticut and investigators believed the same suspect was responsible, the news release said.

In Fairfield, five burglaries were reported between Jan. 26 and March 17:

• Jan. 26, Chaves Bakery, 401 Kings Highway East
• Feb. 13, Kings Deli, 751 Kings Highway East
• Feb. 16, China Wok, 1873 Black Rock Turnpike
• Feb. 20, Blue Cactus Grill, 2445 Black Rock Turnpike
• March 17, Chef's Table, 1138 Post Road

In many cases, alarms were activated late at night or in the early morning hours and in one instance surveillance showed the suspect taking two cash drawers, according to the news release. In every case, money was stolen.

During the investigation, which involved multiple agencies, Oler — who is known to police — was identified as the suspect, the news release said. An arrest warrant was issued for Oler and, on May 8, a Fairfield detective saw him outside a restaurant on Howard Street. As the detective approached, Oler began to briskly walk away from the restaurant down an alley, according to the news release. He was taken into custody nearby, held on $25,000 bond and brought to Bridgeport Superior Court, the news release said.