2 Charged In Theft Of Vehicle: Meriden Police

MERIDEN, CT — Two people were recently arrested in connection with a stolen vehicle that was found in Meriden, according to police.

On Dec. 28, Meriden Police Officer Joshua Desiata saw a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of Walgreens at 825 East Main Street in Meriden.

The vehicle had a smashed out rear passenger window and the ignition column appeared to have been tampered with, according to police.

Police said the vehicle had been stolen out of Hamden, and several receipts from stores in multiple towns were found inside the vehicle. The receipts were all dated after the theft of the car and a credit card, belonging to a woman named Bryanna Fudge, was also found inside the vehicle, according to police.

Over the next several weeks, police said Desiata reviewed surveillance footage from numerous businesses at stores where the receipts came from, and he also spoke with the Department of Corrections to try and to identify the “responsible person or persons who parked the car at Walgreens.”

Desiata identified the suspects as Joshua Garrett, 19, of Quaker Hill, and Bryanna Fudge, 26, of Middletown, and obtained arrest warrants for both following a lengthy investigation, according to police. Garrett and Fudge were already incarcerated at the time on unrelated charges.

Garrett and Fudge were both charged with first-degree larceny of a motor vehicle and first-degree criminal trover.

Fudge, who was arrested Feb. 16, was held in lieu of a $20,500 bond. Garrett, who was arrested Feb. 21, was held in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

“In this case it was Officer Desiata’s hard work and follow up efforts that would lead to the arrest of both parties in this case,” police wrote in a news release. “Officer Desiata’s exemplary efforts and his collaboration with the Department of Corrections, whom we here at the Meriden Police Department are thankful for, ensured that both Garrett and Fudge were held accountable for their crimes.”