Carjacking - January 5

by Chief Thomas J. Wydra ◊ Jan 06, 2011

On January 5, 2011 and at 8:45 p.m., the Hamden Police Department responded to a report of a carjacking in the parking lot of the New Alliance Bank located at 2856 Whitney Avenue.  Upon arrival, police personnel located the complainant/victim, who reported that 3 white male subjects in a late model white Chevy Malibu had met him in the parking lot after a meeting was arranged to buy tire rims from him through Craigslist.  The complainant/victim further reported that during the meeting in the parking lot, he showed the tire rims in his trunk to the subjects and that the subjects began to assault him.  One of the subjects eventually entered the complainant/victim’s vehicle and drove away.  The other two subjects entered the Chevy Malibu and also drove away last seen entering the route 40 connector. The complainant/victim’s vehicle was located a short time later in New Haven with the tire rims having been stolen. 

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Detective Michael DePalma of the Major Crimes Unit.  Detective DePalma can be contacted at (203) 230-4040.

The Hamden Police Department is offering the following safety tips when engaging in this type of activity:

• Meet at a busy public place with video surveillance of the parking lot and during daylight hours
• Make sure that you have a legitimate call-back number of the person you are meeting
• Never go alone and tell someone where you are going and what you are doing
• Ask some basic personal questions of the person(s) you are meeting
• Carry a fully charged cellular telephone
• Never meet anyone at your home