Man Goes on Crime Spree Just Days After Serving 17-Year Prison Sentence: Wallingford Police

Wallingford, CT — Just days after being released from prison following a 17-year sentence on sexual assault and robbery charges, a 44-year-old man is accused of going on a smash-and-grab crime spree before finally being apprehended after a vehicle he was driving crashed in Southington.

Wallingford Police arrested Michael Menta as the suspect in several smash-and-grab burglaries that occurred in town over the weekend and say he is also a suspect in several similar burglaries and motor vehicle thefts in Oxford, Branford, Woodbridge and East Haven.

Wallingford patrol officers located a smashed front door to the Krauszer’s Food Store located on South Main Street at about 1:07 a.m. on July 10, Lt. John Ventura said in a press release.

No suspects were located after a search of the area.

Ventura said the suspect and his vehicle were captured on store surveillance cameras and it appeared that the suspect was similar to the individual that committed a smash-and-grab type burglary in Branford the previous day.

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At 3:36 a.m., Wallingford patrol officers were dispatched to an alarm at the Gulf Station located at 1195 North Colony Road.

Officers arrived and found the front door was smashed and someone made entry into the store and stole items from inside, according to Ventura.

An officer was on his way to assist the responding officers when he located a Chevrolet Suburban parked outside the front door to the Shell Station, located at 1059 North Colony Road. The vehicle matched the description of the vehicle that was on surveillance at Krauszer’s earlier, according to Ventura.

The officer went to investigate when a man identified as Menta exited the smashed front door of the Shell Station after throwing a cash register out of the door, according to Ventura.

The officer ordered the man to get on the ground but Menta ignored his commands and entered into his vehicle and exited the parking lot at a high rate of speed, Ventura said.

Wallingford officers pursued Menta on Route 15 Southbound past the North Haven town line but the pursuit was called off due to the high speeds.

A short time later, Connecticut State Police located the vehicle and Menta again engaged troopers in pursuit, according to Ventura.

Several law enforcement agencies assisted before the vehicle crashed in Southington.

“It was learned that the vehicle that Menta was operating in the pursuit was stolen earlier from Amity Motors in Woodbridge,” Ventura said. “Menta is currently a suspect in several motor vehicle thefts and smash-and-grab-type burglaries in Oxford, Branford, Woodbridge and East Haven.”

Menta was just released from prison on July 8 after serving 17 years in prison for first-degree aggravated sexual assault and first-degree robbery, according to Ventura.

He is currently being held at the Wallingford Police Department on a combined $200,000 bond and was issued a court of July 22 in Meriden Superior Court.

Menta was charged with three counts of third-degree burglary, three counts of second-degree criminal mischief, two counts of sixth-degree larceny, third-degree larceny (theft of motor vehicle), interfering with an officer, engaging police in pursuit, reckless driving (Over 85 mph), possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia, and operating a motor vehicle under suspension.

Pictured: Michael Menta / Wallingford Police Department