Man Charged With Burglarizing Cars At Fairfield Business: Police

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Bridgeport man was arrested last month after he was accused of repeatedly breaking into cars at Fairfield Cinemas, according to police.

Angel Luis Mercado smashed car windows, leaving traces of blood behind in vehicles parked at the theater, police reports said. He was arrested Sept. 4 on warrants related to the burglaries, which occurred over the winter, according to police.

Law enforcement responded Dec. 11, 2019, to the theater at 40 Black Rock Turnpike, where the front window of a car had been smashed, but nothing was stolen, a report said. Police found a rock on the ground outside the car, a rock in the vehicle’s cup holder and blood inside the car, according to the report. Officers also discovered a nearby vehicle with a broken window and a glove box and center console that had been left open, the report said.

Several weeks later, on Jan. 1, police encountered a Jeep with a window that looked to have been smashed with a blunt object, according to a report, which said detectives found blood traces and other evidence on and inside the vehicle. Four other vehicles in the area also appeared to have been burglarized, the report said.

In both the December and January cases, DNA evidence led detectives to Mercado, according to police.

Mercado, 29, of the 400 block of Bird Street, is charged with two counts of third-degree burglary, two counts of attempted sixth-degree larceny and two counts of third-degree criminal mischief in connection with the December case, police said. He is charged with five counts of third-degree burglary, five counts of third-degree criminal mischief, two counts of sixth-degree larceny, attempted sixth-degree larceny, fifth-degree larceny and fourth-degree larceny in connection with the January incident, according to police.

Mercado remains in custody on $25,000 bond for each case, according to court records. He has yet to enter a plea for either set of charges, and his next court date is set for Dec. 1, court records said.