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Lawrence Crook, 37, was first arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8, around 10:20 a.m., when Fairfield Police were alerted to a man acting suspiciously in the back parking to of 135 Rennell Drive, said Fairfield Police Lt. Antonio Granata.
A witness reported seeing the man remove a dumpster from a small fenced-in area within the parking lot, then park his black SUV where the dumpster originally was.
He was seen loading several blue and white striped bags into the vehicle. When he was confronted by the witness, a brief conversation ensued, and the male quickly fled on foot which prompted a call to police, Granata said.
Police discovered the vehicle the male discarded was reported stolen from a car dealership in Bayside Queens. Officers located a man, identified as Crook, matching the description given by the witness in the area of 342 Pequot Avenue.
Officers later confirmed it to be the same suspect through surveillance video, a police K9 track, witness identification, and Crook's admission.
Crook, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was found to be in possession of suspected methamphetamine along with drug paraphernalia.
Police later determined the blue and white striped bags Crook was loading into the stolen car were laundry bags taken from the nearby hotel.
He was arrested and charged with larceny, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia released after post a $300 bond.
About 45 minutes after being released from police custody Crook was arrested again after a Fairfield Fire Lieutenant witnessed Crook inside Fairfield Fire Department Headquarters on Reef Road walking around the apparatus floor and rummaging through property belonging to a fireman.
The lieutenant saw Crook wandering on the apparatus floor within the headquarters building. Crook told the officer he was looking for the food pantry and left.
But just minutes later, he was found back inside the fire headquarters rummaging through the personal property of a fireman and arrested again and held on a $10,000 bail, Granata said
Shortly after his arrests, a 2019 story in the New York Post revealed that Crook was a journalist who had been removed from a Manhattan courthouse after he appeared with a glass crack pipe in his possession to cover a trail, the newspaper said.
Crook, who remains in custody following the Fairfield arrests, has since been fired by Fox.
Attempts to reach CNN were unsuccessful.
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