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Justin Bitar was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 16, in connection with attempted theft that took place on Sept. 10, 2019, from a construction site near the Saugatuck Train Station, Westport Police said.
According to police, an officer on routine patrol observed a suspicious person and another person in a vehicle parked in Lot 7 of the station.
Both were observed in the area of several construction vehicles associated with daily work that had been on-going at the time. The vehicle was seen leaving the area and was not located, police said.
The individual who had initially been seen sitting in the cab of a piece of construction equipment, identified as Bitar, attempted to elude the officer but was located nearby. His vehicle was also found parked in a nearby parking garage, police said.
Bitar was evasive with officers and could not explain why he was in the area but was released without charges.The next morning, police received a report that sometime overnight someone had attempted to steal an engine at the construction site valued at $5,000, police said.
The engine had been unbolted from a piece of construction equipment and moved 20 feet.
Police suspected that Bitar was connected to the incident and following an investigation, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
When arrested, Bitar was charged with criminal mischief and posted a $100 cash bond.
A computer check of Bitar showed he had an active warrant for failure to appear on an unrelated case. He was arrested on that warrant for failure to appear and is being held on a $10,000.
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