Police Blotter: Three Thefts, Three DUIs

The following information was provided by the Darien Police Department:

Tuesday, May 11

STOLEN WALLET Police were called to the scene of an apparent larceny at the Heights Road Stop & Shop after a woman noticed her wallet missing. The New Canaan resident told police she had left her purse in the child seat of an unattended cart while she shopped for plants outside. When she returned, she realized her bright green Judith Lieber wallet, valued at $400, was gone. The wallet contained two credit cards, police said, but there was no evidence either had been used.

MISSING HOUSES Police responded to a reported larceny at a house on Rings End Road, where a caretaker had noticed the disappearance of two miniature stone houses from the top of a wall lining the property's driveway. The decorations, which the caretaker last recalled seeing two weeks prior, weighed 25 pounds and were valued at $350 each.

Thursday, May 13

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE The driver of a 2007 Mini Cooper narrowly avoided serious injury in a Thursday night accident but is facing charges of driving under the influence, speeding, and failure to obey a stop sign. The motorist, identified as Michael Zeman, 59, of Hollow Tree Ridge Road, was allegedly speeding west on Sedgewick Avenue when a witness reported seeing him blow past a stop sign at Leroy Avenue. Zeman crossed over the asphalt near Rocaton Road, crashing into a tree, mangling his front bumper, and causing himself minor cuts and abrasions. After detecting a strong smell of alcohol, officers administered field sobriety tests, which Zeman failed. He was arrested and released after posting $250 bond. Zeman is set to appear in court May 25.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Joann Savoia, 35, of Norwalk was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after she proved unable to stand during field sobriety tests, police said. Units were dispatched to the vicinity of Park Place around 10:38 p.m. after a report of an erratic motorist driving across several lawns. When an officer spotted Savoia's 2008 Mazda CX-7 driving toward the cruiser, the officer turned on the vehicle's lights and siren but was initially ignored. After turning left onto Noroton Avenue and right on Post Road, Savoia finally came to a stop, and the officer approached her. She appeared confused, police said, and was unable to stand up on her own or provide her name. Savoia later failed a breathalyzer test administered at police headquarters. Owing to her state, she was transported to Norwalk Hospital and a family member notified of her condition. She was released on a promise to appear in court May 24.

Friday, May 14

TRAFFIC STOP GONE AWRY A routine traffic stop Friday evening proved to be anything but as a motorist supplied officers with a puzzling jumble of alibis, aliases, and obstruction. The encounter ended with the suspect being held on $11,500 bond.

Read the full story here: Traffic Stop Prompts Battery Of Charges

Saturday, May 15

DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE Around 10:30 p.m., police responded to the scene of an apparent domestic violence incident between a couple going through divorce proceedings. Authorities first became aware of a disturbance after a 911 hang-up call from a residence at 224 West Avenue. A return call yielded a second hang-up, but officers were eventually able to make contact en route with the husband—identified as Richard Gilhooly, 43—who told the officers he would meet them in front of the residence. Once on the scene, two officers spoke with Gilhooly, while two others entered the house to speak with his wife, identified as Gemma Kenealy, 44. 

According to police, the couple had engaged in "a little pushing and shoving" during an altercation, and Gilhooly had threatened to call 911 if Kenealy did not go back to bed. Gilhooly further told the officers that he didn't think he had actually completed a call to 911. The couple's 8 and 13 year-old sons had already gone to bed at the time, police said.

Gilhooly and Kenealy were issued summonses on the scene for disorderly conduct and were set to appear in court Monday.

Sunday, May 16

STOLEN ATVS A resident of 191 Hoyt Street reported the disappearance of two red Polaris Scrambler ATVs, valued at $1500 each. Police said the man had been cutting grass around 12:30 p.m. when he noticed the quads were no longer parked in a driveway area out of plain sight from the road. The man said he last remembered seeing them in March.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Gilberto Godinez, 23, of Port Chester, N.Y. was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a valid license, and failure to drive right, police said. Godinez was reportedly traveling northbound on Hoyt Street around 1:00 a.m.—straddling the double yellow line—when he passed an officer stationed on the side of the road. As the cruiser pulled out into the road in pursuit of Godinez's 1996 Ford Explorer, the officer saw him strike a curb and center himself over the yellow line again. After Godinez made a wide right turn onto Camp Avenue, the officer stopped his car and administered field sobriety tests, which he failed. Godinez was arrested and released after posting $250 bond. He is set to appear in court May 26.