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The Farmington Police Department's arrest log for the 24 hours between 7 a.m. Sunday, March 23, and 7 a.m. Monday, March 24, records five arrests involving five individuals, five officers, and a combined 18 criminal charges. That is more charges than the previous log's eight arrests produced — because one man accounted for twelve of them.
Onell Valentin, 25, of New Britain, was arrested at 9:40 p.m. Sunday at 2 Fernwood Lane by Officer John M. Finn following what the log describes as a warrant arrest. But the charges tell a different story: reckless driving, engaging police in pursuit, disobeying signal of officer, interfering with an officer, operating without a license, operating under suspension, operating an unregistered vehicle, unsafe backing, improper turn, failure to display plates, improper use of a marker or license, and falsifying registration. Twelve charges. A $25,000 surety bond on the disobeying-signal count alone. Valentin was held on bond — the only arrestee this period who did not walk out.
His court date was Monday, March 24 — the same day this log was generated.
Officer Finn, readers may recall, was last seen serving a warrant at York Corrections Institution on March 21, where he arrested a woman who was already in prison. A vehicle pursuit through Farmington is, by comparison, a return to the traditional.
Fifty-eight minutes after Valentin's arrest, at 10:38 p.m., Officer Nicholas G. Karangekis arrested Heaven Secret Flores, 20, at the same address: 2 Fernwood Lane. Flores, a Farmington resident, was charged with false statement and interfering with an officer. Her bond was set at $10,000 nonsurety. She posted and was released.
The shared incident number — 2600003340 — confirms that the Valentin and Flores arrests are connected. What began as a vehicle pursuit on Farmington's streets ended with two people in custody at the same house, charged with overlapping offenses against the same officers.
Earlier in the evening, at 4:37 p.m., Officer Kyle Roque arrested Alexis J Caballero, 40, of Hartford, at 500 South Road. The charge: larceny 6th degree, Connecticut's lowest theft charge, in connection with shoplifting. Bond was set at $2,500 nonsurety. Caballero posted.
This is Roque's third shoplifting arrest in four days. He arrested Christian Mora at 625 Hartford Road on March 20 and Chassidy N Cote at 500 South Road on March 21. Caballero was arrested at the same location as Cote — 500 South Road — two days later. At this point, the pattern is less a coincidence and more a recurring appointment.
Just before 1 a.m. Monday, Officer Ryan A. DiFusco arrested Omy Wayne Rodriguez, 37, of Waterbury, at 280 Farmington Avenue. Rodriguez was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs and use of drug paraphernalia. Bond was $2,500 nonsurety. He posted.
This is the second DUI on Farmington Avenue in consecutive logs — Kevin Christopher Witkos was arrested at 2:40 a.m. on March 21 by Officer Salute in the previous arrest period.
The final arrest: Janelle Lopez Burton, 32, of New Britain, was taken into custody at 3:50 a.m. Monday at 319 New Britain Avenue — the same address where Officer Aiello arrested Tyron Barrow on March 18 and Suzanne Paolitto on March 22. Burton was charged with larceny 4th degree, a Class A misdemeanor covering thefts between $500 and $2,000. Her surety bond was $5,000. She posted.
Officer Malik D. Brown made the arrest. It was a warrant service.
Of the five people arrested, none are Farmington residents except Flores. New Britain, Waterbury, and Hartford continue to be well represented on the log.
The Farmington Mercury is presented by Farmington Storage, 155 Scott Swamp Road — the only storage facility in Connecticut with Museum air. If you are considering storing a vehicle, Farmington Storage recommends that it be registered, insured, and not recently involved in a police pursuit. That said, they do not ask questions. The air does not judge. 📦 farmingtonstorage.com | 860.777.4001
— Jack Beckett has now read four consecutive Farmington arrest logs and is beginning to recognize Officer Roque's name faster than his own family members. The coffee is cold. The charges are not. ☕
The Farmington Mercury covers the town nobody else is covering — the arrest log you'd never see unless someone typed it up, the zoning meeting that ran past 10 p.m., the school board vote that shapes what your kids learn next year. We are always last to breaking news. We are never wrong about the details. By the time you read this, every charge has been verified, every bond amount confirmed, and Jack Beckett has moved on to the next log. Find us at farmingtonmercury.com and let your neighbors know we exist. #WeAreFarmington 📰
Update: The 500 South Road shoplifting streak continues — the March 24 log records a third consecutive arrest at the address in four days, this time Hannes Josue Guaman by Officer Aparo. 📰*