FLU DEATH IN CT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut has had its first flu death of the season. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced the death Monday just before he was scheduled to appear at a news conference with medical professionals at Hartford Hospital to urge people to get flu shots. The only detail about the death released was that the victim was over the age of 65. So far this flu season, 22 people in Connecticut have been hospitalized with the flu. Blumenthal has been a leading voice in calling for increased federal investment in universal flu vaccine development. Federal officials say more than 80,000 people died nationwide from flu last year, including more than 150 in Connecticut.
FOUR DISTRESSED MUNICIPALITIES
There are currently four distressed municipalities in Southeastern Connecticut, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Norwich, New London, Montville, and Preston all make the list for 2018, based on several factors, such as change in per capita income, poverty rate, employment change, and age of housing stock. Preston is back on the list after a two year absence. State officials say a drop in its employment rate, and its equalized grand list per capita accounted for the re-designation. Town First Selectman Bob Congdon says he’s surprised by Preston’s inclusion, but says the anticipated re-development of the former state hospital property should change that.
SUSPECT DEMANDS PHONE RECORDS
A New London man is now seeking the personal cell-phone records of the four city policemen who arrested him in May for selling crack cocaine as a violation of his parole. The attorney representing 39-year old Bennie Gray claim it’s a a violation of his client’s constitutional rights that the police used their own cellphones to conduct surveillance in association with the arrest. The police say they used their own phones, as they provide the confidentiality the city-issued phones don’t.. The police department is refusing to turn over the phone records. A court hearing on the issue will be scheduled Gray has been arrested twice for dealing drugs since being out on parole last year following an 18-year manslaughter sentence.
PLEA IN STABBING CASE
A Jewett City man pleads not guilty Monday in a stabbing case. 27-year old Julio Santos is accused of first-degree assault in allegedly slashing a man inside a Mechanic Street apartment September 6th, wounding him in the face, arm, and torso. The suspect remains in prison on 104-thousand dollars bail, and is due back in court October 31st. Police say they aren’t sure why Santos allegedly attacked the victim.
LEDYARD DWI ARREST
Ledyard police have charged a 43-year old town resident with drunk driving and evading responsibility. Police say 43-year old Juan Rivera was on Pumpkin Hill Road near the intersection with Huntington Way around 6:30 Sunday night when he failed to negotiate a left curve, almost struck another motorist, then overturned. He ran off into the woods, where he was found hiding under two fallen trees. Rivera is out on 15-hundred dollars bond, and is due in court November 8th.
BLAMING THE MISTRESS
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A Vermont man accused by relatives of killing his millionaire grandfather in Connecticut for inheritance money says in new court documents there is stronger evidence a woman he describes as his grandfather’s mistress was involved in the killing. Nathan Carman’s lawyer filed the documents Monday in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island. Carman’s grandfather, John Chakalos, was shot at his Windsor, Connecticut, home in 2013. Police have said Carman was a suspect, but never filed charges. Carman alleges robbery could have been a motive for his grandfather’s mistress. The woman is not named in documents. Relatives accuse Carman of killing his grandfather and possibly his mother, who disappeared during a 2016 fishing trip with her son and is presumed dead. Monday’s court filing came in a case over insurance money for Carman’s boat.
