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Just imagine if this POS had a screwdriver, kitchen knife, or a street-bought gun, which is a MAJOR problem in Hartford. I'd say she got off lucky...
Also, I'm guessing if she CCW'd, drawing and holding the suspect at gunpoint would be reasonable in this instance given the age of the kids??
Attempted Car Theft Thwarted; 2 Babies Safe
By KATIE MELONE
Courant Staff Writer
March 3 2006
WEST HARTFORD -- The mother couldn't believe it. Someone was about to steal her truck and drive away with her babies.
The woman dashed from her Farnham Road home Thursday morning and ripped open the door to the SUV she had left idling in the driveway. She dragged out the teenager she had watched get into her vehicle, police said, where her 4-month-old twins were in their seats.
Then she shoved the teen. He ran. She called 911.
Police said 19-year-old Darren Walters told them he didn't expect to find kids in the truck, that he had set out to steal a vehicle and apparently picked the wrong one. Police would not identify the mother.
The weather forecast predicted Thursday would be cold, even snowy - the perfect weather, Walters figured, to snag a running car left unattended to warm up just before the morning rush hour, police said he told them. So the 19-year-old set his alarm for 6:45 a.m. to catch an early bus from Bloomfield to West Hartford, police said.
"He was envious of his friends for having cars and money and cellphones and wanted cash," said Det. Frank Fallon of the West Hartford Police Department. Walters, monitored by an electronic bracelet as a condition of his release for a car theft committed in January, planned to sell the stolen vehicle to a "chop shop" that breaks down cars for its parts, Fallon said.
Police found Walters around 8:20 a.m. in a park a block or so from Farnham Road, a street of tidy one- and two-story capes and colonials tucked between Fern Street and Farmington Avenue.
The mother saw the teen get into her 2004 Toyota 4-Runner, parked at the end of her long driveway that widens and snakes behind her house, police said. She confronted him just as he was about to leave.
"People get lackadaisical living in what they consider a safe neighborhood," Fallon said. "The bottom line is, if your car is accessible, if you're going to leave it unlocked and running or unattended, you stand to be a victim of this type of crime." And, he added, "If you're going to do it, don't leave your kids in the car."
Police said Walters told them he was "mortified" when he realized there were two babies in car seats in the back of the SUV. He did not resist arrest, and the babies were not injured, police said.
"My son is not a thug," said Walters' mother, Linda Thomas. "He made a stupid mistake."
"There's a car waiting for him in my garage," she said. "All he had to do was graduate from high school."
Walters, of 54 Merriam Ave., Bloomfield, is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Hartford today to face charges of attempted kidnapping, attempted larceny and risk of injury to a minor. His bail was set at $200,000.
Also, I'm guessing if she CCW'd, drawing and holding the suspect at gunpoint would be reasonable in this instance given the age of the kids??
Attempted Car Theft Thwarted; 2 Babies Safe
By KATIE MELONE
Courant Staff Writer
March 3 2006
WEST HARTFORD -- The mother couldn't believe it. Someone was about to steal her truck and drive away with her babies.
The woman dashed from her Farnham Road home Thursday morning and ripped open the door to the SUV she had left idling in the driveway. She dragged out the teenager she had watched get into her vehicle, police said, where her 4-month-old twins were in their seats.
Then she shoved the teen. He ran. She called 911.
Police said 19-year-old Darren Walters told them he didn't expect to find kids in the truck, that he had set out to steal a vehicle and apparently picked the wrong one. Police would not identify the mother.
The weather forecast predicted Thursday would be cold, even snowy - the perfect weather, Walters figured, to snag a running car left unattended to warm up just before the morning rush hour, police said he told them. So the 19-year-old set his alarm for 6:45 a.m. to catch an early bus from Bloomfield to West Hartford, police said.
"He was envious of his friends for having cars and money and cellphones and wanted cash," said Det. Frank Fallon of the West Hartford Police Department. Walters, monitored by an electronic bracelet as a condition of his release for a car theft committed in January, planned to sell the stolen vehicle to a "chop shop" that breaks down cars for its parts, Fallon said.
Police found Walters around 8:20 a.m. in a park a block or so from Farnham Road, a street of tidy one- and two-story capes and colonials tucked between Fern Street and Farmington Avenue.
The mother saw the teen get into her 2004 Toyota 4-Runner, parked at the end of her long driveway that widens and snakes behind her house, police said. She confronted him just as he was about to leave.
"People get lackadaisical living in what they consider a safe neighborhood," Fallon said. "The bottom line is, if your car is accessible, if you're going to leave it unlocked and running or unattended, you stand to be a victim of this type of crime." And, he added, "If you're going to do it, don't leave your kids in the car."
Police said Walters told them he was "mortified" when he realized there were two babies in car seats in the back of the SUV. He did not resist arrest, and the babies were not injured, police said.
"My son is not a thug," said Walters' mother, Linda Thomas. "He made a stupid mistake."
"There's a car waiting for him in my garage," she said. "All he had to do was graduate from high school."
Walters, of 54 Merriam Ave., Bloomfield, is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Hartford today to face charges of attempted kidnapping, attempted larceny and risk of injury to a minor. His bail was set at $200,000.
