Cheshire Police: NB Pair Arrested After Mistakenly Texting Drug Order to Cop

When Officer Eric Tracy was promoted to the detective bureau at the Cheshire Police Department, he was issued a new work cell phone to go along with his promotion.

That cell phone was apparently previously owned by someone who was dealing drugs and using the phone to contact buyers, according to Lt. James Fasano, a spokesman for the Cheshire police.

In December, Tracy started getting both phone calls and text messages from people searching for narcotics. The new detective got in touch with two of the individuals, Michael J. Colello, 23, and Heather M. Colello, 27, both of 229 Branford Road in North Branford.

The brother-and-sister pair had contacted the phone number seeking to purchase some Percocet pills, Fasano said.

“It wasn’t a huge drug deal,” Fasano said. “It was more for personal-use items, but that’s still illegal.”

The Cheshire department, which has a detective involved in the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, then made contact with the task force to assist in identifying the Colellos. Police then facilitated a controlled sale of the narcotics.

Fasano said police set up a deal with the Colellos and met with them in North Branford, where the drug deal happened.

Michael and Heather Colello turned themselves in on Dec. 28 after warrants were issued for their arrest. They were both charged with possession of narcotics and criminal attempt to possess narcotics.

Both were released on promises to appear in New Haven Superior Court on Jan. 9.