Man Crashes Car Into Police Cruiser, Flees Scene: Trumbull Police

Trumbull CT

26 August, 2021

9:31 PM

Description

TRUMBULL, CT — A New Haven man is accused of shoplifting items from a local Home Depot in July, and then he crashed his car into a police cruiser as he tried to leave the area, police said. Police said the accused was taken into custody in New Haven Thursday morning after a brief foot chase. Juan Cartagena, 48, of Springside Avenue, is charged with fifth-degree larceny, assault of a police officer, engaging in police pursuit, evading responsibility, and reckless driving. He was held in lieu of a $60,000 bond. Police said as part of their investigation they identified Cartagena as a suspect who fled the Trumbull Home Depot, and he was also seen stealing goods from the Bridgeport Home Depot on the same day. At 8:30 a.m. July 20, police said they responded to the Trumbull Home Depot store for a shoplifting in progress. A witness said Cartagena left the store pushing a shopping cart with more than $600 worth of stolen merchandise, police said. As officers were arriving, Cartagena fled in his car, driving southerly on Monroe Turnpike, police said. While fleeing, Cartagena drove south in the northbound lane into oncoming traffic and struck the front end of one of the responding Trumbull police cruisers, police said. Cartagena continued to flee from police by traveling southerly on Route 25 at a high rate of speed, leading to his escape, police said. "The officer's vehicle sustained heavy front end damage, but the officer's actions prevented Cartagena's vehicle from striking an innocent bystander's vehicle head on," police said in a news release. The police officer suffered injuries in the crash and was briefly hospitalized, police said. Police said a witness saw Cartagena pushing a shopping cart with stolen merchandise outside of the Bridgeport Home Depot store, when he shoved an employee who was attempting to stop him, police said. Cartagena then fled the scene, police said. A short time later, the same witness observed Cartagena and his vehicle at the Trumbull Home Depot store. The witness called Trumbull police to report the thefts, police said. Police said Cartagena was responsible for several previous thefts from various Home Depot Store locations in Connecticut, and was "known to be violent at times when committing the crimes." Cartagena was on parole, and had failed to report for his mandatory parole appointment the previous week, police said. He has an arrest history, police said in a report.