The two incidents happened on both Wednesday, June 7, and Thursday, June 8 in Branford, according to Branford Police.
The first of the two incidents happened on Wednesday around 5:15 p.m. when a resident on East Main Street (US Route 1) saw two teenagers steal two bicycles from their residence.
After providing a description of the juveniles to officers, police soon found them a short distance away on East Main Street near the I-95 Exit 55 on-ramp. At this point, the teenagers got off the bikes and ran into a wooded area by the on-ramp.
Police soon caught up to one of the teenagers, a 14-year-old East Haven resident, who resisted arrest and spit in an officer's face before being apprehended. The second juvenile, a 14-year-old from Deltona, Florida, was eventually caught on Meadow Circle Road.
Following their arrests, both teenagers were charged with sixth-degree larceny, and the first juvenile who resisted arrest was also charged with assault on an officer.
Following these arrests, a second incident involving two teenagers began on Thursday morning around 4:30 a.m., when an alert resident on Todd's Hill Road told police that they had heard breaking glass and had seen numerous people speeding away from the area in several vehicles.
After arriving at the scene, officers soon found a disabled stolen vehicle a short distance away and spotted two people running into the woods on North Main Street.
After finding them inside a complex at 26 North Main St., officers took the two teenagers into custody. Both suspects, which were revealed to be ages 13 and 15 and from New Haven, were charged with:
- Larceny of a motor vehicle;
- Second-degree criminal mischief;
- First-degree criminal trover.
Investigators were eventually able to locate two more stolen vehicles in the area after the arrests.
In the aftermath of both incidents, Branford Police are warning residents to lock their vehicles and remove any valuable belongings from plain sight in the vehicle. Anyone who sees suspicious activity is asked to call the department at 203-481-4241.
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