Two men stole a $2,000 machine used for dry cleaning from Sanda's Cleaners on Heights Road, and when they learned police were looking for them, the men showed up at the store to try to get the complaint withdrawn, police said.
But police were called in and arrested both men. Darien police gave this account of the matter:
At about 10 a.m. one day, a green Ford Econoline van pulled up to the back of the business at 178 Heights Rd. Ervin James, 53, and David Bruce, 52, both of Stamford, removed a "chiller" from the business and put it in the van. (A chiller is a device that cools water used in the dry-cleaning process.)
Surveillance video captured the theft on tape. Police also found that later the same day the cooler was sold for scrap at LaJoies Scrap Metal and Recycling in Norwalk.
LaJoies took identification information from the seller, who was determined to be James. When James learned Darien police were asking about him, both he and Bruce showed up at Sanda's to try to resolve the situation. When police were called and arrested the two men, they also looked in James' van, in which a small bag of marijuana was found over the sun visor.
James, of Arlington Road in Stamford, was charged with fourth-degree larceny and possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana. Bruce, of Stillwater Avenue in Stamford, was also charged with fourth-degree larceny. Each man was released on a written promise to appear April 22 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
The chiller was recovered intact and was to be returned to Sanda’s Cleaners.
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