Mayoral Challenger’s Car Stolen In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — A car belonging to Legislative Councilwoman Lauren Garrett, who is challenging Mayor Curt Balzano Leng in the upcoming Democratic primary election, was stolen while the family was at a restaurant Saturday night in Hamden.

Police issued a news release Monday regarding an incident in which a family’s Tesla sedan was stolen and the husband was “tracking” the car with an app. Police responded to the area of Dixwell Avenue and Putnam Avenue at about 9 p.m. on Aug. 24 on the report of a stolen vehicle. The stolen Tesla was being “tracked” in the area of Warren Street. Police did not identify the victims in the news release.

Lauren Garrett told the New Haven Register that she and her husband, Dan, arrived at the restaurant in separate cars after campaigning that night. After dinner, they realized that Dan’s car was gone and he had accidentally left the keys in the car when her children excitedly got out to see her, according to the Register.

When Officer Christina Giori arrived at the scene, she saw the stolen vehicle “parked diagonally in the roadway on Warren Street,” according to Capt. Ronald Smith. The Tesla was unoccupied and moments later, the victims arrived and said the car was theirs, according to Smith.

“Officer Giori attempted to ascertain the name of the police department that had submitted the stolen vehicle report and if there was a notation to process it,” Smith wrote in the news release. “Officers learned that the vehicle had not yet been reported stolen to local authorities by the victims.

“The female victim stated that she and her family were finishing dinner at a local restaurant. When they exited the restaurant, they noticed that their vehicle had been stolen. The female victim, along with her husband and 2 children, ages 7 and 12, entered their other vehicle and began to ‘track’ their stolen vehicle. ‘After driving around’ their app received a ‘ping’ in the area of Dixwell Avenue and Circular Avenue. Her husband, who was operating their second vehicle, observed their stolen vehicle parked at a red control signal on Dixwell Avenue at Putnam Avenue. Her husband parked next to the stolen vehicle and began yelling at the suspect. He subsequently eluded them, not before striking their vehicle in ‘the left area of the rear bumper.’ The suspect then fled, abandoning the stolen vehicle on Warren Street.”

Lauren Garrett told the Register that while they were tracking the car with the app, they were “never following the car. We were never chasing the car. We were driving carefully.”

The suspect is described as a “younger, light-skinned black male, with a round face,” according to Smith. Anyone with information is asked to contact Giori at (203) 230-4030.

In the news release, police issued the following safety tips:

• If your vehicle is stolen, contact your local police department immediately
• Do not attempt to engage in any form with a criminal suspect, especially with small children present

Read the full story at the New Haven Register here.