2014 Year in Review: Top 10 Newtown Police Stories

Here are the top police stories on Newtown Patch for 2014.

10. Missing Newtown Man Spotted in New York

• Robert Hoagland, missing from Sandy Hook since July 2013, was seen in New York in July 2014. Newtown Police say this is unconfirmed. As of this posting, he remains missing.

9. Newtown Police Say Recent Sighting of Missing Newtown Man is Unconfirmed

• Someone visiting a New York prison claimed to have seen missing Newtown man Robert Hoagland, however, Newtown police say there was no proof.

8. Venezuelan Man Arrested for Threatening Newtown Residents After School Shooting

• A 30-year-old man from Venezuela was arrested for making harassing phone calls to Newtown residents in which he pretended to be Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza.

7. Newtown Police Issue 30 Infractions for Distracted Driving

• Nearly 20 of the tickets given out last April were for cell phone violations, including six for texting.

6. Newtown Man Shoots Himself in the Finger

• According to police the man was cleaning his shotgun last October when it accidentally went off. He was taken to Griffin Hospital in Derby after the accidental shooting.

5. Stolen Sandy Hook Memorial Signs Recovered, Suspect Arrested

• Authorities found large signs in a room rented by the suspect, according to police in Herndon, Va., last May. The signs that were stolen from playgrounds were named in honor of two children victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook School Grace O’Donnell and Chase Kowalski.

4. Troopers, Volunteers, Officers Receive Awards for Response to Sandy Hook Tragedy

• A July article by Eleanor Stanford asked: “Do you know any of these 300 people honored with awards?” The people selected were honored with awards at a ceremony at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. Readers criticized Governor Dannel P. Malloy for not honoring many they felt should be honored.
  
  

3. Two Arrested for Trespassing, Marijuana In Fairfield Hills Building

• Police arrested a Massachusetts man and a Connecticut woman Sunday at Fairfield Hills’ Sheldon House last January. They were charged with criminal trespassing and marijuana-related charges after the incident in January 2013. This prompted 142 comments fro our Patch readers.

2. Why Are CT Minorities Pulled Over at a Higher Rate? Research Leading to Answers

• A report of CT traffic stop data documented who police pull over and why. The July 2014 article prompted 69 comments by readers questioning how police collected the date, which some thought was biased.

1. Adam Lanza: Report Probes Dark Interior Life of The Sandy Hook Shooter

• Five months before Adam Lanza committed the massacre at Sandy Hook School, the shooter wrote to a cyber-acquaintance that his interest in mass murder has been “perfunctory for such a long time,” according to an investigative report.

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Have a news tip? Email wendy.mitchell@ patch.com.

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