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CT state police investigating ‘street takeover’ in Vernon commuter lot

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CT state police investigating ‘street takeover’ in Vernon commuter lot


State police responded to a street takeover-style event in a commuter lot in Vernon Friday night.

The takeover event happened in a commuter lot off Interstate 84 near exits 64 and 65, according to a statement by Connecticut State Police.

State troopers, Vernon police and federal agencies were investigating as of Friday night, state police said. It was not yet clear whether any arrests had been made.

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Police have been responding to a spike in the takeover style street racing events, during which illegal street racers and crowds of spectators take over a specific area by blocking roadways, intersections, parking lots or commuter lots, and made at least four arrests earlier this month, police have said.

On June 6, a juvenile was arrested and charged with inciting a riot in the second-degree, first-degree unlawful restraint and third-degree criminal mischief, in connection with a street racing takeover event in Tolland on May 21, police said.

Just days prior, police arrested three others who were allegedly involved in street takeovers. State police said the arrests were part of a final phase in a months-long investigation into street racing “takeover events” throughout Connecticut.

State police in May announced that they had charged one of the alleged ringleaders of the events.

Police: Street racing ‘ring leader’ arrested following multiple street takeovers

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Last month, the state Senate voted unanimously to create a special taskforce to generate recommendations for deterring “street takeovers” that have become an increasing problem in multiple towns, including Wethersfield, Simsbury, Tolland and Bristol.

Street takeovers are rising in Connecticut. A state task force could be the answer to fight back.

 

A statewide tip line and website have been set up for the so-called street takeovers happening throughout the state. Connecticut residents can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit fbi.gov/cttakeovertips to submit photos, videos or information anonymously, state police said.

Police are advising Connecticut residents to turn around, seek an alternate route and call 911 if they come across a takeover event.

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Connecticut

Tractor-trailer carrying thousands of gallons of fuel catches fire on I-91 in Wethersfield

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Tractor-trailer carrying thousands of gallons of fuel catches fire on I-91 in Wethersfield


A tractor-trailer hauling thousands of gallons of fuel caught fire on Interstate 91 North in Wethersfield on Friday morning.

State police said state troopers responded to I-91 North near exit 24 around 7:42 a.m. and found the cab of a tractor- trailer carrying 7,500 gallons of fuel on fire.

The driver was able to get out of the truck and was not injured, according to state police.

The fire departments from Wethersfield and Rocky Hill responded to the scene to extinguish the fire and troopers shut down I-91 North and South as well as oncoming traffic from Route 3 to I-91 South.

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Because the truck was hauling fuel, troopers worked to move drivers who were nearby, state police said.

I-91 South reopened shortly after the fire was out.

The left two lanes of I-91 North have been reopened and the state police Fire & Explosives Investigation Unit is also responding to assist with the investigation.

State police said the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection later responded to the scene.

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Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to $1 million

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Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to  million


A Connecticut couple has been charged in connection with an elaborate two-month theft spree at Lululemon stores across the country that an investigator with the retailer estimates netted about $1 million worth of product.

Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on Nov. 14 in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota suburb of Woodbury. The couple, from Danbury, Connecticut, were charged with organized retail theft after a Lululemon retail crime investigator contacted local authorities in Minnesota.

But Lululemon’s investigator said evidence shows their crimes go back to September and took place in states like Utah, Colorado, New York and Connecticut, according to the criminal complaint.

Attorneys representing Richards and Lawes-Richards did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Thursday.

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Richards claimed he was racially profiled, complaint says

Richards and Lawes-Richards were stopped after exiting the Lululemon store in Roseville, Minnesota, on Nov. 14 when the security alarm went off, according to the criminal complaint. Richards allegedly claimed store employees racially profiled him and the two were allowed to leave afterward.

The Lululemon investigator later alleged the two visited the store the day before on Nov. 13 with an unidentified man and stole 45 item valued at nearly $5,000. That same day, the pair had allegedly conducted four other thefts in Minneapolis, Edina and Minnetonka.

Officers arrested the couple at the Lululemon in Woodbury. The two denied any involvement in the theft, with Lawes-Richards allegedly claiming they were staying with her aunt and had only been in Minnesota for a day.

Officers found several credit and debit cards on the couple, as well as an access card to a Marriott hotel room. Using a search warrant, officers found 12 suitcases in their room, including three filled with Lululemon clothing with tags attached worth over $50,000, according to the complaint.

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In all, the company investigator estimated the couple has taken up to $1 million in stolen product, according to the complaint, which does not detail how he arrived at the high figure.

Couple blocked cameras among other tactics: Investigator

The Lululemon investigator said one of the couple’s alleged tactics was for one of them to distract associates while another stuffed product in the clothes they were wearing, according to the complaint.

Another technique involved the two strategically exiting the store, with one of them holding a cheap item they had bought and the other carrying more expensive products that had sensors, according to the complaint. When the alarm would sound off, only the person with the cheap, purchased item would stay behind and show a receipt, while the other would keep walking with the stolen product, the complaint says.

The pair are accused in eight Colorado theft incidents between Oct. 29 and 30, and seven thefts in Utah on Nov. 6 and 7, according to the complaint.

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The pair are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in Minnesota, court records show. Their next court appearance is set for Dec. 16.



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Connecticut readers get the shaft from newspaper’s vulgar Jets headline blunder

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Connecticut readers get the shaft from newspaper’s vulgar Jets headline blunder


Ouch!

A newspaper in Connecticut had an unfortunate typo involving Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley’s herniated disc on Monday.

This past Monday, The Chronicle, a newspaper covering Eastern Connecticut, published an AP story on the front page of its sports section in the print edition that referred to Mosley’s “herniated d–k.”

Mosley has missed the Jets’ four games with the injury — the one in his neck, that is.

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Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley speaks with the media before practice in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun/New York Post

In the copy, Mosley’s injury was not shafted, getting described correctly in the nut graph.

The unfortunate phallacy did not go unnoticed: in an extra twist, the error went viral when it was posted on the X account of David Coverdale, the 73-year-old singer of Whitesnake.

An editor for The Chronicle told The Post that the newspaper would be issuing a correction in the paper.

Last week, prior to the Jets’ loss to the Colts, Mosley spoke about how he hoped to return after the Jets’ bye, when they host the Seahawks on Dec. 1.

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“That’s definitely the goal,” he said. “I’m in a position where I’ve played a lot of football. Me missing this time won’t hurt me as much as another guy that might need this opportunity. It’s about safety at the end of the day. When I go home, I’m Clint Mosley. I’m C.J. I’m not the football player.”

Mosley said the birth of his daughter, who arrived the week after his injury, put things in perspective for him.

“I had a full week of having a normal neck and ever since then every time I’m looking down, my neck’s hurting,” Mosley said. “It puts things in perspective. There’s a lot of life after football. When I’m done playing, I want to make sure I’m 100 percent.”

From head to toe and everywhere in between.

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