BRIDGEPORT — State police said they arrested a Bridgeport man who pulled a gun on them during a struggle.
State police said that on Saturday, April 22, just before 6:30 p.m., they made a traffic stop on I-95 north at Exit 27, pulling over a car driven by Robert W. Bowens, 33, of Bridgeport.
Police said that Bowens agreed to let them search his car and they found several illegal items, so Bowens took off. Police chased him and tried using a Taser on him but “it was ineffective.” Police said “an intense struggle ensued on the highway” and at some point during this struggle, Bowens pulled a gun. Police said they fought to control his arm holding the gun and they were able to knock the gun away from him.
At some point during the struggle, police said Bowens’ family arrived and were yelling at them during the fight. Bowens was able to break free and jump into a gray Infiniti SUV, assumed by police to be driven by a family member, which police said tried to drive the wrong way down I-95 north at the Exit 27 on-ramp, where they met state police backup arriving on scene. The SUV then changed direction and once again drove the wrong way onto the Route 8, south near the Exit 1 connector to I-95 north. Bowens was able to escape.
Police said troopers received minor cuts in the fight with Bowens. The investigation remained ongoing and several different jurisdictions assisted in trying to find Bowens.
On Tuesday morning at around 7:20 near Pearl Harbor Street in Bridgeport, police said Bowens was taken into custody without incident. He was charged with two counts of criminal attempt assault I, two counts of assaulting a police officer, reckless driving, criminal possession of a firearm, weapons in a motor vehicle, possessing a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of ammunition and criminal possession of an electronic defense weapon.
Bowens is a convicted felon, so based on those charges, there is a court set bond of $500,000. In addition, there are two violation of probation warrants, each with a $100,000 court set bond. Bowens could not post the $700,000 bond and was remanded into custody for arraignment at Bridgeport Superior Court later Tuesday morning.
