News

New Canaan Police See Sharp Rise in Stolen Vehicles, Thefts from Cars

By |

The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Stolen vehicles in New Canaan are running at nearly twice last year’s pace so far in 2026, Police Chief John DiFederico told members of the Police Commission at their July 8 meeting, citing a pattern that has persisted despite repeated warnings from the department. Year-to-date through June 30, 15 vehicles have been stolen in town, compared to eight over the same period in 2025, according to the department’s monthly statistics. Larcenies from motor vehicles have risen even more sharply over the same stretch, jumping from three year-to-date in 2025 to 15 so far this year. DiFederico said the cause is largely the same as it has been.

News

Local Leaders Create ‘Domestic Violence Survivor Support Fund’ for New Canaan Residents

By |

Nonprofit, municipal, medical and public safety leaders in New Canaan last week announced the creation of a new fund designed to help those impacted by domestic violence—long described as the town’s number-one violent crime. Created by the New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership in collaboration with the New Canaan Community Foundation, among other local agencies, the “Domestic Violence Survivor Support Fund” will confidentially provide access safe housing, meet basic needs and cover emergency expenses—including childcare—for survivors. “The thing that we all want to do is break the cycle of violence,” Dede Bartlett, founder of the New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership, said Friday during a presentation on the new fund to local leaders held at Town Hall. “We don’t want her kids to become the perpetrators in the future. I look upon this as a very practical investment in helping people move forward so that you do not have to have this conversation 10 years from now.”

Administered by NCCF, the fund “will provide a direct, easy, practical way for people like us, and groups, and organizations to directly support our citizens who are in crisis,” Bartlett said.

News

Warrant: Man, 42, Charged with Assault, Strangulation, Impersonating Police Officer

By |

The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. A 42-year-old Syosset, N.Y., man is facing multiple felony charges after New Canaan Police allege he assaulted a woman during a domestic violence incident, strangled her until she lost consciousness and later impersonated both the woman’s brother and a retired New York Police Department lieutenant in phone calls to the NCPD. According to the affidavit of NCPD Officer Matthew Blank, which forms the major part of an arrest warrant application obtained by NewCanaanite.com, the man is charged with second-degree assault, second-degree strangulation or suffocation, disorderly conduct, criminal impersonation and impersonating a police officer. The investigation began June 22, when a woman arrived at New Canaan Police headquarters to report that the man had assaulted her the previous day at her parents’ home, where the couple had been living. Police learned there was an active protective order involving the two individuals.

News

Warrant: Unlicensed Contractor Arrested After Botched $28,000 New Canaan Heating Job

By |

The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. New Canaan Police last week arrested a 27-year-old Waterbury man by warrant after he performed heating and cooling work without a license, following a monthslong investigation into a stalled home heating installation that a local woman said cost her tens of thousands of dollars. Police on July 6 charged the man with acting as and offering services to perform heating and cooling work unlicensed, according to the affidavit of Officer Austin Malizia that forms the basis of an arrest warrant application signed June 18 by a state Superior Court judge. The investigation began Dec. 11, 2025, when Malizia was dispatched to New Canaan Police headquarters on a report of fraud and met with the complainant, according to the warrant application.

News

Police Charge Teen with Third-Degree Forgery

By |

Police on Friday arrested an 18-year-old Fairfield man and charged him with third-degree forgery, a misdemeanor offense (same level as second-degree breach of peace). At about 3:41 p.m. on July 10, an officer on patrol in the area of Route 123 and Hill saw a northbound driver using his cellphone, according to a police report. During a subsequent stop, the officers identified the driver and found that his license had been suspended, the report said. During a search of the vehicle, the officer found a fake Connecticut driver’s license with the man’s photo but an incorrect birthdate and randomly generated license number, it said. The man was released after promising to appear July 21 in state Superior Court.