WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Two men were arrested early Saturday morning after police responded to a burglary at a vacant residence on South Center Street.
Windsor Locks Police Department officers were dispatched to the scene at approximately 4:45 a.m. after a neighbor reported suspicious activity involving a dark sedan and two men walking around the property.
Upon arrival, officers blocked the vehicle in the driveway and identified the driver as Kristen Shortman, 46, of Windsor Locks, who was recognized from past incidents.
As an officer approached the house, a loud crash was heard inside, and a male suspect, later identified as Mathew Jones, 46, of Waterbury, Connecticut, burst through a window and fled on foot.
Officers pursued Jones through neighboring yards and arrested him after a brief foot chase.
Shortman fled the scene in the dark sedan, driving northbound on South Center Street, while officers were assisting with Jones’ arrest.
An arrest warrant is being processed for Shortman, according to police.
A search of the residence revealed a third suspect, Reginald Leach, 45, of Hartford, hiding behind a shower curtain in a downstairs bathtub.
Leach was arrested without incident.
Officers discovered the suspects had cut out sections of the home’s copper piping, causing severe flooding in the basement and destroying the home’s furnace.
The Windsor Locks Fire Department responded to shut off the water and prevent further structural damage.
Officers recovered burglar tools, a backpack and drug paraphernalia from both arrested suspects that later tested positive for cocaine.
Jones and Leach were charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief, possession of burglar tools and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Both men are being held on $150,000 cash/surety bond.
