CONNECTICUT, USA — A Norwalk man was arrested Sunday night after a series of "Street Takeover" events throughout Hartford, Tolland and New Haven counties, police said.
According to police, "Street Takeover" events are when street racers and mobs of people gather in a certain area, blocking "roadways, intersections, parking lots, and commuter lots" while "initiating races, performing burnouts, setting fires, and releasing fireworks."
Police said on Sunday evening these events happened in Hartford, Tolland and New Haven counties.
In Tolland, a group took over an intersection on Rt. 195, in front of the Fieldstone Commons shopping plaza.
"When you see something like that it’s just unfortunate for the residents around," said Justin Vozzolo of Tolland.
Police warned that the takeover events can be extremely dangerous, with racers and spectators refusing to leave the area despite police arriving on scene. Instances have included cruisers being boxed in and vandalized, and at one point included a spectator with a gun jumping on a police car.
Officers have been responding to the takeover events over the course of several weeks, all of which are actively being investigated, police said.
"Our state police have been working diligently for the last couple of months along with other agencies on the increase and uptick of this street racing," said Sgt. Christine Jeltema of Connecticut State Police.
After gathering information through posts found on social media and going undercover to identify people who participate in the "Street Takeover" events, state troopers from the Bureau of Special Investigations Unit and Troop H learned of a series of "pre-planned criminal acts" involving at least 200 people that were occurring on Sunday evening.
Tolland Town Manager Brian Foley shared concerns about the police response to the incident.
"What we would ask is that they respond to the exterior of the scene, put on their lights and sirens, and act as a deterrent that we hope would begin to disperse the crowd," Foley said.
Tolland does not have its own police department. It has resident troopers but during the hours that the incident occurred the town was under the protections of Troop C.
Foley said he was told state police made the decision to "stand down."
"I understand how difficult those decisions are to make however, I'm hoping that there's lessons learned from those decisions," he said.
State Representative Tammy Nuccio who represents Tolland said she has a meeting scheduled with the state police commissioner to discuss how to prevent something like this from happening again.
"I am furious, I’m absolutely furious that it was allowed to happen and that there was no response to it," she said.
She also said she believes state law is too lenient on offenders and police are limited in how they can respond.
"In the city they have task forces than can deal with this in a small town we don’t have that and these criminals know it," Nuccio said.
Using a number of resources including surveillance, officers identified a gray Ford Mustang GT as one of the cars in the events and found it driving along south on I-91 along the Rte. 40 Connector in Milford.
Officers pulled the driver over and arrested 20-year-old Jefferson Duron from Norwalk, who they claim is one of the ringleaders in the street racing incidents.
Duron is currently being held on a $250,000 bond and appeared at Manchester Superior Court today with charges including Inciting to Riot, Riot 1st Degree, Reckless Endangerment 1st Degree, Reckless Driving, and other motor vehicle violations.
Officers ask anyone with information regarding these "Street Takeovers" to contact state police at 860-534-1000, which will be kept anonymous. State police are continuing to investigate these events and arrest the individuals involved.
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