Light Pole Aids Officers In Recovery Of Stolen Gun And Drugs: Stamford Police

STAMFORD, CT — Thanks to proactive police work and a light pole, a stolen gun and drugs were recovered and a Stamford man was arrested after a brief foot pursuit earlier this week, according to police.

Damon Lovett, 50, was arrested and charged with interfering with police; possession of narcotics; possession with intent to sell; possession of narcotics within 200 feet of public housing; criminal possession of a firearm; and theft of a firearm, Assistant Stamford Police Chief Richard Conklin said.

On April 29 at around 9:30 p.m., Stamford Police Officers Joseph Zoppi and Ryan Hubbard were conducting foot patrol in the 20-block of Main Street.

"That's an area where we've been getting some complaints in recent months about drug use and sales," Conklin said.

As the officers were patrolling, they noticed a man, later identified as Lovett, in a well-lit area peering into what appeared to be a large plastic bag, Conklin said.

"They feel this might be narcotics related, so they started walking toward the suspect. At some point, the suspect sees them and he takes off running," Conklin noted.

The officers gave chase, and at one point, Lovett looked over his shoulder to see if the officers were gaining on him, but he ran "smack into a light pole," Conklin said.

"That doesn't knock him to the ground but it takes a lot of his forward progress away and he stumbles, and he loses his speed. This is a contributing factor that allows the two officers to close the gap and wrestle him to the ground," Conklin said.

Officers found a loaded Glock 43 9mm handgun in Lovett's waistband, as well as a plastic bag that contained 34 smaller, knotted plastic bags of crack cocaine, weighing a total of about 12 grams, Conklin said. The handgun was reported stolen out of Brookfield.

Lovett was given a $250,000 bond on the gun and drug charges, plus an additional $30,000 bond stemming from a PRAWN warrant that charged him with violation of probation, Conklin said.

"This was a very nice job by Officers Joseph Zoppi and Ryan Hubbard," Conklin said. "They saw something that piqued their interest and followed up on it. We'd be remiss if we didn't give any shoutout to that light pole that actually helped this effort."

Lovett's next court date is scheduled for July 3 in Stamford.