Lakeside Community—

Riverside Residents Tell Police Of Suspicious Activity

By Andrew Gorosko

In response to some Riverside residents’ complaints about suspicious activity occurring in the vicinity of an old motel on Underhill Road, the first selectman is urging police officials to deal with the problem appropriately.

At a June 5 Police Commission session, First Selectman Pat Llodra told commission members that a group of Riverside residents who attended that meeting care about their community alongside Lake Zoar, adding, “It’s important that the town respond to that.”

Mrs Llodra noted that the property commonly known as the Housatonic Motel at 138 Underhill Road is a “grandfathered” land use, meaning that the facility predates local zoning and is considered a nonconforming land use. The one-third-acre property is located between Underhill Road and Dock Drive.

“There are layers of complexity on this,” Mrs Llodra said, adding, “If there is criminal activity, I think this is very serious.”

Resident Peggy Fillion of Underhill Road told Police Commission members that the presence of the motel has posed continuing problems for Riverside residents.

Ms Fillion said that 18 Riverside residents attended a May 23 session at which police Officer William Hull and Officer Felicia Figol explained to them how to organize a neighborhood crime watch program in light of residents’ fears about crime.

Issues raised at that session by residents included: increased problems with drugs and alcohol at the motel; increased break-ins into vehicles and residences in the area; increased automobile racing on nearby streets; fear of walking in the neighborhood or allowing children to play there; and drivers not obeying traffic signs, according to Ms Fillion.

Police offered advice to residents at the May 23 session on how to conduct a neighborhood watch program as a crime deterrent.

Ms Fillion told Police Commission members on June 5 that the number of emergency responses to 138 Underhill Road for various situations has increased markedly this year, compared to last year.

“We are all very pro-active in our neighborhood,” Ms Fillion said, adding that she is seeking town help in working toward closing down the motel.

Resident Susan Mouchantat of Underhill Road said the 12-room motel owes back taxes to the town. She said she expects that the facility functioned as a motel in the past, but is not now actually a motel.

“Is this a halfway house?” she asked.

Laurie McCollum, proprietor of Lorenzo’s Restaurant on Center Street in Riverside, claimed there has been continued drug dealing in the area, adding that she has confronted a drug dealer about such activity. Such activity has blatantly occurred in the area for about 18 months, she said.

“It’s beyond comprehension that [drug dealers] can continually get away with this,” she said.

Resident Terrence O’Connell of Lake Drive said that for about the past two years suspicious activity has included many motorists going to the motel, staying there for several minutes, and then departing.

One Riverside resident told Police Commission members that she fears for the safety of her children. The woman said that many motorists visit the motel who do not live there.

Ms Fillion said that motorists in the area pull their vehicles up to each another window-to-window, exchange items, and then depart.    

To gain evidence in investigations into such matters, police need to know the marker plate numbers of vehicles involved in suspicious activity, Police Commission member Brian Budd said. He urged that residents report suspicious activity to police.

Resident Karen Lockwood of Lake Drive said she has seen suspicious activity in the neighborhood. Suspicious activity now appears to be occurring when motorists park their vehicles under the Interstate 84 overpasses that cross above Riverside, she said.

Joel Faxon, a Police Commission member and an attorney, said he would talk to the town attorney about the prospect of the town suing the owners of the motel for creating a nuisance. Mr Faxon said that Riverside residents could sue the motel’s owners creating a nuisance.

Such a legal action would be a civil matter, not a criminal case, Mr Faxon said.

One Underhill Road resident who lives near the motel told commission members that her home has had two burglaries, one of which resulted in the theft of expensive items.

Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico said, “We’ve got a problem, a multifaceted problem...This is such a broad spectrum problem.”

People have a right to live in a reasonably safe place, Mr Mangiafico said of the Riverside residents’ concerns about crime.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said police are pursuing the residents’ complaints with their law enforcement tools.

It is difficult to investigate such situations and get to the point of making arrests, he said. Police want residents to provide them with information that will aid police in investigating such matters, he said.

In response, Ms Fillion said residents will be relying on the police to help them.