Confrontation with Newcomer Leads to Arrest

A woman who had just moved into an apartment building at 27 Greenwood Ave. told police Sunday night that a neighbor yelled at her in an unintelligible way, grabbed her and slammed her up against a wall, Darien police said.

Police gave this account of the incident, which led to the arrest of Thomas Dunlap, 56, who lives in the same building:

At about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, the woman told police, the woman saw the inside knob of her front door move around as if someone was trying to enter it. Her husband was at home, and she opened the door to see who was on the other side. She was confronted by Dunlap.

Dunlap began yelling and swearing at her, but not making any sense, she told police. Then he grabbed her by her right arm and slammed her into the wall of the stairwell.

She rushed back into her apartment and called police. When her husband arrived in the hallway to help his wife, Dunlap had already gone into his apartment, police were told.

When police questioned Dunlap, he appeared to be intoxicated, and he gave different accounts of what had happened but gave no explanation that appeared plausible.

Police charged Dunlap with disorderly conduct and released him on a $500 bond pending a March 29 appearance in state Superior Court in Stamford.