Crime & Safety
What Started with a Tickle Got 2 in a Pickle
Here's the blow-by-blow (figuratively speaking and sometimes literally) of how one man annoying his girlfriend with unwanted tickling turned into two arrests.
It started with a 27-year-old man tickling his 23-year-old girlfriend in their home on Noroton Avenue in the wee hours of the morning of Sunday, Jan. 5.
It ended up with Darien police charging both of them, and the man getting arrested before he was released on $15,000 in bonds.
Before we describe what happened, let it be known that (perhaps in response to a specific question from police) he said he did tickle her, but didn't do it with malicious intent, according to police.
Here's an account (an accusation not proven in court) of what allegedly happened, according to police (where accounts differ, it will be noted):
What he did: At some point before 4:47 a.m., he went up to his girlfriend, sleeping in bed with their five-month-old baby, and started tickling her feet.
What she did: She said she flailed at him with her arms to try to get him to stop and scratched his face while doing so. He said she not only jumped up and scratched him, but bit him on his left arm and hit him with a two-foot-long wooden club-like stick, hitting his elbow and the palm of his left hand. Police said he had marks on him consistent with his account.
What he then did: He smashed items in the house, including a television set and an entertainment center.
What she then did: At 4:47 a.m. she contacted police to file a complaint.
What police then did: They charged her with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct. She was released on a promise to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on Monday. He was charged with disorderly conduct and released on $5,000. Both boyfriend and girlfriend were to appear Monday in state Superior Court in Stamford.
What police also did: A records check found that he was wanted on a warrant for failure to comply with conditions of probation from a previous, unrelated arrest in Stamford. Those conditions were substance abuse evaluation and treatment. He was held on a $10,000 bond on that charge.
What he then did: At 10:08 a.m. Sunday, he paid his bond and was released.
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