Firing gun in backyard
Police received a report of a person firing a gun in the backyard of a home on York Street on June 29. When police arrive at the scene of the alleged gun use a man working on his truck, Richard Watt, 58, of Stratford denied firing a gun in the yard, according to a police report. Police say that Watt also denied their request to access the back yard, so they looked into the yard from the next door neighbor’s property and they found bullet holes in a fence and in the neighbor’s house. Police returned to Watt and seized from him two pistols and a pellet gun. They arrested Watt and charged him with unlawful discharge of a firearm, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, interfering with an officer, and breach of peace.
DNA leads to burglar
When police responded to a burglar alarm at Stratford Spirit Shop on May 12 they saw they building had been burglarized and found a baseball cap at the premises. At the end of May a state police forensics study found that DNA from the hat matched that of William Haschak, 45, of Stratford, who was already incarcerated for other reasons. For alleged involvement in the May break-in police charged Haschak on June 26 with burglary and larceny.
Biting and threatening
Tonisha Belle-Jones, 40, of Stratford was charged with assault, and Christopher Jones, 40, of Stratford was charged with assault, threatening and disorderly conduct for their involvement in an alleged domestic dispute. The claims include the woman poking, kicking, punching and biting the man, and the man going through her cell phone, choking her and threatening to harm her. The arrests and charges took place June 24.
Forging a check
New England Check Cashing on Stratford Avenue reported to Stratford police in February that fraudulent checks were submitted there. After an investigation police tracked down and arrested Brad Smith, 53, of Bridgeport on June 23 for forgery, larceny and issuing a bad check.