I can’t believe what I read in today’s Hartford Courant. The probable cause hearing is being postponed. It figures. Now we will have to wait even longer to see these “idiots” put on trial. And as far as the Courant getting information from warrants, forget it. Get on with this trial please. Do good reporting and stop relying on set information that is already in place. Use your sources like I have.
The past two incidents this year in Cheshire got me to look back at that old Cheshire Police Department 50th Anniversary Book. I came across some interesting “articles.”
According to the book:”The 1960′s brought about many changes including the opening of I-84 through Cheshire in Dec.1961. This brought an increase of traffic to town and further burdened the officers who were already supplementing the towns four traffic lights…..Motor vehicle enforcement also got a boost with Cheshire’s first RADAR unit, which resulted in nearly 100 warnings for speed being issued in September 1959.”
Editors note: OMG!!! Even then they couldn’t resist the ticket ticket ticket!!!
“Cheshire dealt with several escapes from the Reformatory and an all-out riot in July of 1961 required that all hands render assistance. Cheshire Police also had their first tests handling major crimes in the 1960′s.
When 38-year-old Constance Pompano robbed the Cheshire Branch of the Waterbury National Bank, she netted almost $1,500.
Editor’s note: in todays economy, that would be a little over $11,000.
“When Chief McNamara and Officer Larry Wild nabbed her buying clothes with the money in a nearby store, they earned a Letter of Commendation from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
“In 1965 Cheshire experienced another criminal incident: ‘The Beaudry Case.’
In 1965, a 15 year old boy and his friend shot and killed the boy’s mother and 11 year old sister. The boys then stole cash and the family’s car and fled to Vermont. After his arrest, the boy admitted that he did it because his mother would not let him skip school to go hunting.”
The book also goes on to say: As other communities worked to end racial segregation, in August 1967, the Town Board of Selectmen wished to go on record as ‘welcoming non-white families to town.’
Oh here is another interesting tidbit: “Also during the mid-1960′s the town had begun to outgrow its buildings. The 7th Circuit Court or ‘Justice Court’ , which convened at the Town Hall to hear cases, agreed to move out of town temporarily until more space became available. They would later become G.A. #7 in Meriden and never return to Cheshire.”
Also: “The State of Connecticut gave serious consideration to several sites in Cheshire to build its new Police Academy in 1966. They also settled in Meriden and later constructed the very building that trains all Cheshire police officers to this day.”
“Police officials compllained of the difficulty in conducting proper suspect interviews because of the loud bingo games being hosted at the fire department in the same building. This prompted Selectmen to search for an alternate site for a new police department.”
And in a sad note: “During 1970, a committee to revise the Town’s charter neared the end of its work. It was decided that the body of goverment would change from a Board of Selectmen to a Town Council and Town Manager form. This change meant the abolishment of the Board of Police Commissioners and the final entry was made into the minutes of the Board’s meetings on November 8, 1971.”
Editor’s note: You know I will be looking at those minutes.!
Oh and here is something “familiar”—according the the book: “Talk turned serious in the 1980′s about the possibility of a large shopping mall being constructed in Cheshire. Because of the anticipation of the requirements of that facility, the police department began to hire additional officers and promote several already sworn to manage the growing force. The mall never came, but the department was now well prepared for the growth that the town would see.”
OK—enough of that.
As you know from prior posts, much of the information I have received from reputable sources on the street cannot be published at this time because I am not protected by the fourth amendment. Let’s put it this way-I know what these two creeps had for dinner last night-OK? Here is the story:
Home Invasion Suspects’ Hearing Postponed
BY ALAINE GRIFFIN
The Hartford Courant
1:26 PM EDT, September 17, 2007
NEW HAVEN
A Superior Court judge today agreed to postpone Tuesday’s probable-cause hearing for Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky, who are charged with killing a Cheshire mother and her two daughters during a burglary and arson in July.
In motions filed last week, defense attorneys for both men asked Judge Richard A. Damiani for the hearing to be continued for at least 60 days. The motions said the defense needed to review “a good deal of discovery material” submitted by the state as well as conduct further investigations.
Damiani agreed to continue the hearing until Nov. 6. Hayes and Komisarjevsky were not in court. Komisarjevsky, 27, of Cheshire, and Hayes, 44, of Winsted, face capital felony and multiple murder,
kidnapping, rape and arson charges in connection with the July 23 beating of Dr. William Petit and the killings of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.
The men were out on parole at the time of the attack.
William Petit, who police believe interrupted the burglary, was beaten but managed to escape from his Sorghum Mill Road home.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky were arrested by Cheshire police responding to the Petit home as the two suspects were fleeing in the family’s car.
New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington has said he would pursue the death penalty if the two suspects are convicted.
Probable-cause hearings are mandatory for any defendant charged with a crime punishable by life in prison or death.
Damiani also today delayed until Oct. 16 a decision on whether to release 11 search warrant affidavits related to the arrests. The Courant is fighting a motion from the defense to keep the affidavits secret.
