Violent Emotionally-Disturbed New Haven Man Apprehended: PD

NEW HAVEN, CT — An emotionally disturbed man was apprehended after going berserk during a series of assaults and vandalisms in New Haven and elsewhere, according to multiple police reports. He was taken into custody after a police chase where three police cruisers and three civilian vehicles were damaged and one person was sent to the hospital.

New Haven Police were contacted by the man's New York state sister of the man who said he suffers from multiple mental health issues and wasn't taking his prescribed medicine, said Officer David Hartman, New Haven police spokesman.

He smashed her car windows Sunday and left her home. She called New York State Police and told them about the incident and said he was likely heading back to New Haven. A broadcast was put out to be on the lookout for the man.

Then Monday afternoon police responded to a robbery complaint at the Whalley Avenue Walgreens. A woman said a man approached her in the store, punched her in the face and took her wallet while screaming that she was a "white devil," Hartman said. He left the scene in a black Honda Civic.

Police then got a theft complaint on Central Avenue and a vandalism complaint on Sherman Avenue. The descriptions of the vehicle and the suspect matched previous incidents.

Several officers were assigned to an impromptu task force to apprehend the man before he caused more harm. Police managed to get the phone number of another of the man's sisters who said she hadn't seen him. Moments later she called back police to say that her brother was at his girlfriend's house on Dover Street in a heated argument. The girlfriend's brother also contacted police about the incident.

Police located the man's car in traffic, but he evaded them and eventually got on I-91 northbound, exited the highway a couple times and eventually got back on heading back toward New Haven. Eventually the man was taken into custody after several attempts to stop him.

During the pursuit three police cruisers and three civilian vehicles were hit, according a press release from State Police.

It was also learned that the man allegedly struck a woman in the face with a brick that he threw through her car window on Middletown Avenue, Hartman said. He had asked her for $15 and she refused. The investigation into that event continues.

So far the 30-year-old man was charged with first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, interfering with police, engaging police in a pursuit and second-degree criminal mischief. Charges by State Police and possibly other jurisdictions are pending. Police aren't identifying him until other departments complete their investigations.

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