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The arrests stemmed from an investigation that began in New Haven County on Thursday, Dec. 28, when Meriden Police Officer Desiata found a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of the Walgreens at 825 East Main St., according to the department.
This vehicle was found to have a smashed rear passenger window and an ignition column that had been tampered with. Desiata also found numerous receipts from several stores in multiple towns inside the vehicle, in addition to a credit card belonging to a woman named Bryanna Fudge, police said.
The car was later found to have been stolen from the town of Hamden, and the receipts were all dated after this theft, according to Meriden Police.
Desiata then began a weeks-long investigation into the theft and began looking at surveillance footage from the businesses that the receipts had come from. He also spoke with officials from the state Department of Corrections to try and identify the suspects who had parked the car.
Eventually, Desiata was able to identify the suspects as Middlesex County resident Bryanna Fudge of Middletown, age 26, and New London County resident Joshua Garrett of Quaker Hill, age 19, and secured arrest warrants for both of them.
Both Fudge and Garrett were charged with:
- First-degree larceny of a motor vehicle;
- First-degree criminal trover.
Fudge was arrested on Friday, Feb. 16, and had her bond set at $20,500. Garrett was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 21, and had his bond set at $25,000.
Both suspects were already incarcerated for non-related charges at the time of their arrests, police said.
The Meriden Police Department commended Desiata's work and success in identifying the duo.
"Officer Desiata’s exemplary efforts and his collaboration with the Department of Corrections, whom we here at the Meriden Police Department are thankful for, ensured that both Garrett and Fudge were held accountable for their crimes," the department said in a statement.
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