2 Charged In West Hartford Part Of Bigger Car Theft Ring: Police

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Police in West Hartford said two men arrested this week have been part of a statewide stolen car ring.

According to a police incident report, at 1 p.m. Monday, members of the West Hartford Police Department Community Support Unit located a vehicle wanted in connection with a large number of car burglaries throughout the Greater Hartford region and other towns in the state. In many of the instances, vehicles were physically damaged in order to gain access to the passenger compartments, according to an incident report.

The occupants were detained at the scene and the vehicle, a 2019 Toyota Rav4, was determined to have been stolen out of New Britain. It also was displaying stolen registration plates, police said.

A total of four stolen plates and four additional active or canceled plates were recovered, according to an incident report.

The occupants of the Toyota were wanted by various police departments from towns throughout Connecticut, police sad.

Victor Mercado, 24, of Meriden, was wanted in Wethersfield, Seymour and Meriden. For the West Hartford incident, he was charged with:

• Larceny of a motor vehicle
• First-degree larceny
• The misuse of plates
• Operating a motor vehicle without a license
• Possession of burglar tools
• Four counts of theft of plates

Samuel Mercado, 26, of Meriden, was wanted in his hometown and also in Farmington and Cromwell.

In West Hartford, he was charged with:

• First-degree larceny
• Larceny of a motor vehicle (second offense)
• Conspiracy to commit larceny of a motor vehicle (second offense)
• Possession of burglar tools