Police on Aug. 9 arrested a 36-year-old New Canaan man by warrant for punching a man walking on the South Avenue sidewalk in the stomach on a Wednesday night in April, court records show.
At about 8:05 p.m. on April 16, police were dispatched to South Avenue and Maple Street on a report of an assault that occurred the night before, according to the affidavit of Officer Idelissa Lluveres that forms the major part of an arrest warrant application signed May 5 by a state Superior Court judge.
Arriving, Lluveres and Sgt. George Caponera were flagged down by the girlfriend of the complainant, the affidavit said.
“[The girlfriend] stated that while she and the complainant … were walking down the street, they saw an individual who had punched [the complainant] in the stomach the night earlier,” it said.
The girlfriend pointed out the man who was walking across the street, near the intersection of South Avenue and Cherry Street, Lluveres said in the arrest warrant application.
Police confronted the man, asking whether he’d had an altercation on April 15. He “stated yes because someone had bumped into him,” the application said. “When asked if things got physical, he said ‘No’ and stated that he was walking on the sidewalk on South Avenue in the opposite direction of [the complainant] and his girlfriend and ended up bumping into the victim. [The man] stated that [the complainant] called him ‘autistic’ but he was unaffected by the comment and continued walking by.”
Meanwhile, the complainant told Caponera that on the night of April 15, “he and his girlfriend were walking on South Avenue near Church Street” when the man “forcefully punched him in the stomach with a closed fist while walking by,” causing minor pain, the affidavit said. The man also yelled “Move out of my [expletive] way” and “nobody cares about you” as he walked past, it said.
No cameras were found in the area. The complainant provided a statement to press charges.
In a separate and unrelated incident on April 17, the same man had been charged with second-degree breach of peace “for striking a different victim in the crotch while walking down the street,” the arrest warrant application said. (The girlfriend declined to provide a statement, it said.)
Police charged the man, an Elm Street resident, with third-degree and second-degree assault, arresting him at home at about 6:23 p.m. on Aug. 8. He was released on $2,500 bond and scheduled to appear Aug. 20 in state Superior Court. The man hasn’t pleaded, according to Connecticut Judicial Branch records, and remains out on bond with an arraignment now scheduled for Oct. 5.
He will appear the same day to face charges of second-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace in connection with the April 17 altercation, court records show.
(Second-degree breach of peace is the same charge that New Canaan Police sought to bring against a former sitting first selectman following a sudden outburst at Town Hall on Veterans Day in 2022. However, the NCPD arrest warrant application was not signed by the state’s attorney’s office and no arrest was made.)
The Domestic Violence Crisis Center in Stamford provides services, support and education for the prevention and elimination of domestic violence. Its 24-hour hotline is 888-774-2900. To reach DVCC offices during regular business hours, the number is 203-588-9100. Services are free and confidential, multilingual and multicultural. Here’s a recent Q&A with the organization’s executive director. Here is information on the “Domestic Violence Survivor Support Fund” managed by the New Canaan Community Foundation.