Hamden Man Arrested After Foot Chase Through Cemetery: New Haven Police

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Hamden resident faces several charges after allegedly fleeing from New Haven Police in a stolen SUV and knocking down headstones and bushes in a cemetery during the pursuit.

Leoandre Crockett, 36, of Winchester Avenue in Hamden, was arrested after the pursuit that began when a New Haven police officer heard three gunshots fired while he was parked near the corner of Chapel and Kensington Streets at about 5:12 p.m. on Friday, March 18, Officer David B. Hartman, New Haven Police Spokesman, said in a press release.

Hartman said after hearing the shots, the officer saw people in the nearby park scatter and a black Mazda CX-9 was speeding toward him.

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The driver then turned toward oncoming traffic on the one-way stretch of Chapel Street in order to flee, according to Hartman.

Suspecting the occupant(s) were responsible for the shots, Officer David Diaz sped off after the wrong-way driver. The Mazda operator sideswiped a car in the 1300 block of Chapel Street, Hartman said.

Officers pursued the SUV into a cemetery on Pine Rock Avenue where the vehicle drove over a few bushes and knocked down a number of headstones.

Hartman said two young men bailed out of the vehicle and ran. Officers were in close pursuit and the older of the two allegedly threw down a large silver colored handgun.

Diaz tackled the younger male as he was running between the cemetery’s stelae, according to Hartman, who also said that other officers caught the older of the two before he made it much farther.

The younger suspect is a 16-year-old convicted felon, who resides on Hamilton Street in New Haven, and Crockett was the other, according to Hartman.

During a search, police found packets of crack cocaine and marijuana in Crockett’s pockets, Hartman said.

The handgun, a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, was recovered by Officer Jonathan Caron.

Hartman said when NHPD Task Force Officers Frank Sanchez and Michael Lozada spoke with the juvenile, he admitted to firing the gun moments earlier on Kensington Street.

Crockett admitted to discarding the gun when they tried escaping capture, according to Hartman.

The SUV was reportedly stolen in North Haven and Hamden Police are investigating a lead suggesting the same SUV was used during a recent robbery in their town, Hartman said.

Police arrested both suspects.

Crockett was charged with carrying a pistol/revolver without a permit, weapon in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, interfering with police, engaging police in pursuit, operating a motor vehicle without a license, first-degree larceny, evading responsibility, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree criminal mischief, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school and possession of a controlled substance.

The juvenile, who Hartman said survived being shot within the last year on Bassett Street in New Haven, faces the following charges: carrying a pistol/revolver without a permit, weapon in a motor vehicle, interfering with police, first-degree larceny, first-degree reckless endangerment, and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Pictured: Leoandre Crockett, 36, of Winchester Avenue in Hamden/ New Haven Police Department photo.