Fairfield County | featured news

BRIDGEWATER — A plan to build affordable housing on Main Street North — in the works for the last 20 years —hit another roadblock this month when a state judge declined to enforce his own 2003 ruling.

In an eight-page decision, Judge Trial Referee William Mottolese agreed with the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission that the project, which started out as a 35-unit development and would now have 100 apartments instead, had changed too much to be considered the same one he ordered the town to accept 15 years ago.

STAMFORD — What you can’t see, taste or smell can sometimes kill you.

Such is the case with radon gas, which many don’t realize is permeating their homes or offices, building up in the air or seeping into the water supply.

Why does it matter? Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking and is responsible for around 21,000 deaths a year nationwide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The naturally occurring radioactive gas is present across the country.

STAMFORD-Without acceptance of a plea agreement in the domestic murder of Jacalyn Sliverman in 2014, jury selection for the longtime boyfriend accused of strangling her to death, Bertony Thoimpson, could begin in early March.

At the end of a brief hearing hearing Thursday at the Stamford courthouse before Judge John Blawie, who is slated to preside over the jury trial, Thompson was scheduled to return to court on March 6.

Thompson’s defense attorney Alan Williams said a 28-year jail offer made to Thompson if he would agree to plead guilty to murder will not be accepted.

STAMFORD-A Manhattan man who apparently injured up to three Stamford police officers during a fight outside the entrance to the Alive@Five concert in early July was sentenced to three years in jail Thursday.

Lamont Holloway, 53, made an appearance at the Stamford courthouse and pleaded guilty to a single felony count of assault on a police officer. As well as the three years in jail, Holloway will spend the following seven years on special parole and can be returned to jail immediately for any violation of the law.

STAMFORD — Police say when they pulled over a car for illegally tinted windows they found a stash of marijuana products.

Sgt. Brian Butler said officers on Woodway Road spotted a car with its windows darkly tinted Tuesday afternoon.

Butler said the officers detected a marijuana smell when they approached the driver, Andrew Sember, 24, of Trumbull.

Butler said Sember was carrying a pistol in a shoulder holster with another gun stuffed in his waistband, for which he had a permit to carry.

STAMFORD-A Meriden man was sentenced to six years in jail Wednesday a week after his partner in the robbery of a Norwalk jewelry store and pawn shop reached a plea agreement with Stamford prosecutors.

Antonio Barreto, 22, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to six years in jail.

On Sept 9, 2016 he and Donald Outlaw, 29, of Hartford walked into the Gold Rush store, which buys and sells precious metals at 495 Connecticut Avenue and displayed a handgun during the robbery that was caught on surveillance video, police said.

STAMFORD — A city resident has been accused of robbing another man of expensive sneakers last month in North Stamford.

The arrest stems from a 911 call by a 22-year-old Stamford man, who told police three men gave him counterfeit money in exchange for three pairs of Adidas Yeezy Boost sneakers — named after Kanye West.

The lead investigator in the case, Mike Longo, said the victim met the buyer on social media. They agreed on $1,000 for the sneakers and to meet about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at a remote location on Summit Ridge Road.

STAMFORD — A former Greenwich private school theater teacher has been sentenced to two years probation for sending inappropriate texts to a 15-year-old student.

Jesse Lozano, 25, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty this week to felony risk of injury to a minor.

Judge John Blawie on Tuesday gave Lozano a three-year suspended jail sentence and two years probation.

STAMFORD — A former Oregon man who police say ripped off Connecticut homeowners following Superstorm Sandy with a generator installation scheme was arraigned this week.

John Mech, 56, of Seaside, Ore., was extradited to Connecticut in September and faces charges for stealing generator deposits from homeowners in Stamford, Monroe and Westport.

At his arraignment Tuesday at the Stamford courthouse, his attorney Alan Friedman told Judge John Blawie his client has made restitution in three of the cases.

STAMFORD-A Norwalk sex offender pleaded guilty on Tuesday to reduced charges that he severely injured a two-year-old girl and is scheduled to be sentenced to four years in jail when he returns to court in mid-march. Pedro Salinas, 32, was facing up to 63 years in jail when he was arrested by Norwalk police in July 2016 and charged with a number of offenses including first-degree assault, risk of injury to a minor, first and second-degree sexual assault and the intentional torture of a person under 19 years of age.