New Britain
Coverage (20 articles)
Farmington Police Log, May 15–19: Three DUI Arrests Including a Fatal, Two Westfarms Cases, and a Warrant
Six arrests in a four-day window. Three §14-227a Operation Under Influence charges, including the Meadow Road fatal-crash DUI. Two Westfarms-frontage cases — a fifth-degree larceny and a first-degree trespass — at the same address. One warrant pickup on stacked sixth-degree larceny counts on a Farmington resident. Five posted bond. One held on $500,000 surety.
Farmington TPZ Schedules July 27 Hearing on Noble Energy Rezoning
The Farmington Town Plan and Zoning Commission voted Monday night to accept Noble Energy Real Estate Holdings, LLC's application for a partial R40 to B1 rezoning at 8261 Fienemann Road and to schedule a public hearing for July 27. The 86-acre parcel — at the corner of Fienemann Road and the I-84 ramps, drained by a culverted channel into Hartford-owned Batterson Park Pond — is where Noble Energy has proposed a warehouse, a travel center, and fueling stations. The same project has been the subject of two contested wetlands hearings this spring, with an intervener petition formally accepted May 6.
Farmington Council Sets May 26 Discussion, June 9 Vote on Meadow Road Sidewalk
Town Manager Kathleen Blonski told the Farmington Town Council on May 12 that the Meadow Road sidewalk project will return as an agenda item at the council's May 26 meeting, with a potential vote at the June 9 meeting. The council is committed to building the project this year regardless of which of two design options it picks — the original south-side-throughout design or the split design that crosses to the north side west of Wakefield Lane.
Farmington Police Log, May 8–10: A Saturday-Night Pursuit, a Triple Warrant, and Court Today for Both
Eight arrest records, five unique individuals, ninety-six hours, none of them Farmington residents — a six-charge Saturday-night pursuit cluster, a Friday-morning triple-warrant detention at Hein Farm, and another shoplifting at the Westfarms address that Officer Aparo has been working since March. Two of this weekend's defendants have court dates today.
Farmington Wetlands Commission Accepts Intervener Petition in Noble Energy Hearing
The Farmington Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously accepted Stephanie Roman's intervener petition Wednesday in the continuing public hearing on Noble Energy Real Estate Holdings' proposed travel center, warehouse, and diesel fueling facility on the upstream edge of the Batterson Park Pond watershed. The petition's expert, Carya Ecological Services principal Sigrun Gadwa, flagged a state-endangered wetland plant — Saururus cernuus, lizard's tail — on the applicant's own plant inventory. The hearing was continued to May 20, with both commissions attaching conditions to anything they eventually approve.
Farmington Police Log, May 7:
Three arrests in Thursday's Farmington Police Department log: a six-count DUI warrant against a 21-year-old Avon woman that includes two counts of motor-vehicle assault, the first narcotics-sale arrest the Mercury has covered in this series (a Class A felony cocaine-sale count led the warrant), and a 63-year-old Farmington resident on a breach-of-peace charge. Officer Michael J. Smith's seventh appearance extends his sole lead at the top of the series.
April's Fourteen Police Logs: A Month-End Reading
A month-end reading of every police-beat article The Farmington Mercury published in April 2026 — twelve arrest logs, one wire-broken shooting at Forest Park Drive, and one statewide distracted-driving crackdown. The patterns across them: one officer working the mall consistently, one address that won't stop showing up, one conspiracy case spanning three defendants, and a single Tuesday — April 28 — that became the densest 24-hour log of the year on the Farmington beat. Every defendant is presumed innocent.
Farmington Police Log, May 4: One Arrest at Southeast Road, and a Hotspot Becomes Official
A single arrest in the May 4–6 Farmington PD log — Robert Derron Hinton, 46, of Wethersfield — becomes the third arrest at 1600 Southeast Road in seven days, crossing the threshold this column set for a defined hotspot. The arresting officer is Kyler A. Fausel, not Jose R. Santiago: the pairing breaks at the threshold event and the address is now a multi-officer §53a-125b enforcement location.
Farmington Police Log, April 30: Officer Santiago's Second Southeast Road Arrest in Three Days
The latest Farmington PD log records one arrest: Joshua Anthony Soler of New Britain, charged with Larceny in the 6th Degree at 1600 Southeast Road. The notable part is the arresting officer — Jose R. Santiago, now on his second on-scene arrest at this address in three days, establishing the kind of officer/location pairing the series has not seen outside Officer Aparo at 500 South Road.
Farmington Council Defers Meadow Road Sidewalk Vote, Asks for Redesign
After a 90-minute public hearing, the Town Council declined to vote on the south-side alignment and asked Town Engineer Russ Arnold to redesign the project as a south-side / north-side split crossing at Wakefield Lane. The vote is now expected at the June Town Council meeting.
Farmington Police Log, April 29: One Arrest on Colt Highway, and the First §14-140 Suspension on the Page
One arrest, two motor-vehicle charges, and the first FM log entry to put §14-140 on the page. Officer Sotelo's third appearance in the series.
Farmington Police Log, April 28: Four Arrests
Four arrests on the Farmington PD log for April 28, 2026, the densest single 24-hour log of the year by charge count. The official record on the Forest Park Drive shooting confirms the suspect's name as Jordan Xavier Burns Cruz, held on a $300,000 surety bond on a single negligent-storage-of-firearm count. A third co-defendant joins the Tirado conspiracy case via a shared incident number, and Officer Smith pulls ahead of the FPD officer rotation with his sixth log appearance.
Farmington Police Charge 19-Year-Old After Child Shoots Self
A 10-year-old child was wounded Tuesday afternoon after accidentally firing an unattended gun in a parked car at the Forest Park Office Green office park in Farmington. Jordan Cruz, 19, was held on a $300,000 surety bond and faces seven charges, including negligent storage of a firearm and risk of injury to a child. The child was treated at Connecticut Children's and is in stable condition.
Farmington Police Log, April 27–28: Three Arrests, One Shared Incident Number, and Five Charges at Southeast Road
Three arrests on the Farmington PD log for April 27–28, 2026: a shared-incident dual arrest at 47 New Britain Avenue (Caron + Faulkner, Officer Karangekis) and a five-charge on-scene arrest at 1600 Southeast Road (Seck, Officer Santiago, held on bond). Three first-in-series statutes — §53a-107 Criminal Trespass 1st, §53a-117a Criminal Mischief 4th, §53a-167a Interfere with Officer — debut in a single arrest.
Farmington Votes Thursday: Polls Open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Across Four Locations
Farmington's annual budget referendum is Thursday, April 30. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. across four locations. On the ballot: the $143 million FY 2026-27 operating budget plus $18.3 million in bonds (a $14.34 million school HVAC upgrade and a $4 million road and drainage bond). Here's the short version of where to vote, how absentee ballots work, and what the Mercury has covered on each piece of the ballot over the past month.
Farmington Police Log, April 23–24
Two arrests and eight charges in a 24-hour log introduce four new statute categories to the FM series — including §53a-64bb Strangulation 2nd, the most serious new charge debuted in several logs. Officer Malik D. Brown's fifth appearance ties him with Aparo and Smith at the top of the series.
Farmington Votes April 30: Polling Places and Absentee Ballot Rules
Farmington's $143 million operating budget and $18.3 million in bond questions go to voters Thursday, April 30. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at four locations, and absentee ballots have their own set of rules and deadlines.
Noble Energy Brings a Smaller Plan to Farmington Inland Wetlands
Noble Energy returned to Farmington Inland Wetlands with a smaller plan for 8261 Fienemann Road: no restaurant, a shrunken warehouse and travel center, and wetlands impact cut from 3,700 square feet to under 1,000. The public, when its turn came, wanted to talk about four schools within a half mile. The hearing was continued to May 6.
Farmington Police Log, April 17–20
Two arrests over a 72-hour weekend window — both on Friday night, both on motor-vehicle charges, both by Officer Daniel J. Taylor, two hours apart.
Farmington Police Log, April 16–17: Six Arrest Records, Two People, Five Warrants for One
Six arrest records, two people — one of them Honesty Love Tirado, 23, of New Britain, with five incident numbers and $105,000 in bond stacked against her in a single Thursday morning.