Newtown Man Facing Larceny Charges

Newtown Police report that on February 28, Jonathan Garces, 48, of Newtown, turned himself in to the Newtown Police Department on an active arrest warrant. The warrant stemmed from a robbery incident that occurred during the early morning hours of June 18, 2021, at a local business on Mt Pleasant Road. The victim reportedly interrupted a theft in progress when he observed Garces removing diesel fuel from heavy equipment parked on the property.

Police said Garces fled from the scene in a white Chevrolet Astrovan, and in doing so allegedly injured the victim. The victim told police he had witnessed Garces on previous occasions at another nearby commercial property removing used cooking oil from a storage receptacle without permission prior to the June 18 incident.

Police charged Garces with third-degree robbery, third-degree assault, fourth-degree larceny, and sixth degree larceny, and was held on a $50,000 bond with a court date of March 15 in Danbury Superior Court.

This is a more detailed version of a report that ran March 4.

Crossed Yellow Lines

Newtown Police report Bonnie Lowinger, 63, of Norwalk, operating a 2020 Lexus NX, was traveling on Toddy Hill Road at 9:21 am March 1. Milton Green, 45, of Manchester, operating a 2022 International MV607 tractor trailer, was traveling on Toddy Hill Road in the opposite direction. Lowinger crossed over the double yellow center line and impacted the left side of Green’s vehicle.

No injuries were reported.

Lowinger was issued an infraction for failure to drive right.

Medical Emergency Causes Accident

Newtown Police report Suresh Selviah, 62, of New Fairfield, operating a 2010 Honda Odyssey, was traveling eastbound on Mt Pleasant Road in the area of Whippoorwill Hill Road at 12:25 pm March 1. Selviah had a medical emergency that caused his vehicle to swerve off the right shoulder and strike a mailbox. Selviah’s vehicle came to rest in a snowbank.

Selviah was transported by Newtown Ambulance to an area hospital. No enforcement action was taken.

A photo of this incident was run in the issue of March 4.

Rear-Ended On Berkshire Road

Newtown Police report Randy Khen, 28, of Danbury, operating a 2007 Subaru Legacy, was traveling westbound on Berkshire Road in the area of Toddy Hill Road at 3:22 pm March 2. Khen was traveling behind a 2020 Subaru WRX operated by Jocelyn Salazar, 19, of Brookfield. The front of Khen’s vehicle made contact with the rear of Salazar’s vehicle, causing minor damage.

Khen was transported to Danbury Hospital for a medical emergency.

The incident is still under investigation.

Collision In Parking Lot

Newtown Police report Lauren Pope, 17, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2012 Subaru Outback, was backing out of a parking space in a commercial parking lot on Queen Street at 5:09 pm March 2. While backing out, Pope’s vehicle struck a 2003 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro owned by Allison Zanine, 58, of Bethel, which was parked in a space behind Pope’s vehicle.

No injuries were reported.

No enforcement action was taken as the incident occurred on private property.

Handtruck Causes Fire

Newtown Police report Donte Cobb, 43, of Bridgeport, operating a 2010 International 4000 Series 4400 tractor trailer, was stopped in the rear loading area of the main commercial building at 5 Queen Street facing westbound at 8:22 am March 3. A 2012 Freightliner M2 106 Medium Duty tractor trailer owned by Dichello Distributors, Inc, was parked in the same loading area ahead of Cobb’s vehicle.

Cobb told police he was making a delivery to a business and had removed his handtruck from his vehicle, placing it along the outer edge of the driveway. He said he then attempted to pass by the other tractor trailer on the left. While passing, the passenger side body of his vehicle made contact with the driver’s side mirror of the other vehicle. At the same time, the front bumper made contact with the handtruck, causing the handtruck to make contact with an Eversource utility pole along the edge of the driveway. Damage was sustained when the handtruck opened power lines at the bottom of the pole, causing a small fire.

No injuries were reported.

No enforcement action was taken as the incident occurred on private property.

Violated Probation

Newtown Police report Celina Falis, 36, of Newtown, was arrested at 3:39 pm March 4 on the charge of violation of probation. She was released with a court date of March 22 in Danbury Superior Court.

Struck Pole And Trees

Newtown Police report Miguel Loja-Loja, 52, of Danbury, operating a 2003 Toyota Camry, was traveling west on Mt Pleasant Road at 3:29 pm March 6, when it entered into the eastbound lane of Tory Lane. Police said Loja-Loja swerved back into the westbound travel lane before losing control, traveling off the roadway beyond the westbound shoulder.

Loja-Loja’s vehicle struck the westbound curbing with its tires before striking a conduit attached to an Eversource utility pole with its right front bumper. The vehicle then struck a tree with its right side before striking a second tree with its left front bumper, where it came to rest.

No injuries were reported.

Loja-Loja was issued an infraction for failure to drive upon the right.

Arrested For DUI

Newtown Police report Edward Dunn, 31, of Newtown, was arrested at 8:27 pm March 6 on the charges of illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and following too closely, resulting in a collision. No specific details of the crash were provided.

He was released with a court date of March 22 in Danbury Superior Court.