Derby Police Nab 5 Teens After Multiple Car Thefts And Break-Ins

DERBY, CT — Police arrested five teens in three separate investigations related to stolen cars and car break-ins over the weekend.

Derby police were called around 3:30 in the morning Friday by a Hilltop neighborhood resident to report a "suspicious vehicle" driving slowly, with teens walking alongside of it. Patrol cruisers already in the area gave chase, but called it off on Derby Avenue over safety concerns, according to police.

Police identified the suspect vehicle as having been stolen from the Hilltop area on July 4. The Orange Police Department reported the vehicle had been abandoned later on route 34 in their town, apparently from engine failure, according to the police report.

A short time later, Derby police observed a 15-year-old from Shelton and 16-year-old from Ansonia walking near the golf course. "They appeared to be dirty and had scratches and abrasions as if just coming through the woods," according to the police report. Derby police detectives were able to connect them to the stolen car, and charged them with multiple larceny and burglary counts, according to police.

On Sunday morning at around 6:30, police responded to a report of several teens pulling on car door handles. Derby patrol officers located the teens and positively identified them as those attempting to enter parked vehicles, according to their report. The 16-year-olds, both from Ansonia, were charged with attempt to commit burglary and larceny.

Derby patrol officers on the West Side report they covertly observed several teens entering vehicles in the Anson Street area at around 1:30 a.m. Monday. The teens were detained but the vehicle owners declined to press charges, police said.

Later that same morning, around 5:30, patrol officers responded to a report that a vehicle crashed into a residence on Cherry Street. The occupants of the vehicle fled the scene before their arrival, police said. Police later determined the car was stolen from the area earlier in the evening. Based on witness descriptions and with the assistance of the Ansonia Police K-9 team, the suspects were located near Anson Street. One 16-year-old from Derby was connected to the vehicle and charged with conspiracy to commit larceny as well as threatening, interfering, and assaulting a police officer after he spat in the investigating officer's face, according to police.

Two of the other previously reported stolen vehicles were later located / recovered abandoned in Ansonia, police said.

Police are cautioning residents not to confront any suspicious-looking people, but to instead call 911.