HAMDEN, Conn. — A teenager has been arrested in a March carjacking that seriously injured a 74-year-old woman, police announced Monday.
The 16-year-old from New Haven was identified as the suspect that threw the woman to the ground and stole her vehicle. Police obtained a warrant for his arrest charging the teen with Robbery 1st Degree and Larceny 2nd Degree.
The carjacking happened on March 18. The woman was putting her purchases into the car when she was violently thrown to the ground from behind. The victim was taken to the hospital with a serious hip injury.
The teen suspect is expected to appear in court on May 12.
Hamden Plaza owner Andrew Bermant said they have invested more than $200,000 worth of surveillance cameras since the pandemic started. Most recently, cameras that capture license plates in April.
“We have extra duty officers now at the shopping center as well as more police patrols going though the shopping centers,” he said.
He called the attack on the woman “atrocious” and said it saddens him.
Shoppers at the plaza agree. Grenay Bordeaux, New Haven, said she contacted other seniors she knew to advise them not to travel to the plaza alone.
“I personally think that we just don’t do enough in the state of Connecticut in the City of New Haven, Hamden to provide for our youth,” she said. “They don’t have any anticipation that life is going to get better for them.”
Katherine McManus of Hamden said the attack caught on camera surprised her because of how violent it was. She said she has been more cautious at the plaza and parks closer to the buildings. She thinks police and the city are doing the best they can to deter crime at the shopping center.
Bordeaux said while those are good deterrents, people who want to commit crimes will.
State lawmakers are expected to vote on a bipartisan juvenile crime bill by the end of this week that would increase the time youth offenders can be held, give judges more access to youth criminal records, and allow the judicial system to track repeat offenders.
“I do agree some crimes that are committed by juveniles should be treated differently than as juvenile,” McManus said.
Bordeaux said he agrees the bill would do good but also wishes more was done to help kids growing up.
‘We’d rather react to a problem then manage it before it becomes a problem,” she said. “We need to find out what our youth need.”
In February, a 63-year-old woman was robbed and dragged 40 feet outside of Stop and Shop on Dixwell Avenue while putting groceries in her car. The moments were caught on a surveillance camera.
Also in February, an 83-year-old woman was injured after she was knocked to the ground during a morning attempted robbery. Just a couple of weeks earlier there was an attempted armed robbery of a man inside his parked car in the stop and shop parking lot.
The next day, a woman’s purse was stolen from her while putting groceries in her car, according to Hamden Police.
Tony Black is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tblack@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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