A high speed chase that startled Westporters this afternoon began with the armed robbery of an armored car driver in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot, next to Trader Joe’s.
Just after 12:30 p.m., police received a 911 call that 2 suspects, dressed all in black, had accosted the driver after he retrieved a cash deposit from inside the bank.
The suspect vehicle had reportedly parked alongside the victim’s van. One of the suspects pointed what was described by the victim as a revolver-style weapon at
him, while the second took him to the ground to gain control of the bank bag.
During the struggle, the victim’s deposit bag, firearm, keys, phone and a
scanner were taken from him.
The Wells Fargo Westport branch.
An eyewitness who had exited the bank shouted for help. Panicked, the suspects
dropped the bank bag and phone, but made off with his firearm, scanner and keys.
The witness said that the suspects drove at him in what he believed was an attempt to strike him, before leaving the parking lot. A description of the individuals and their vehicle was provided to responding officers.
Multiple units immediately began circling the location of the incident from
several directions. The suspect vehicle was located by an officer, traveling at a high rate of speed southbound on Compo Road South and making a left turn on to Greens Farms Road.
Attempts to signal the vehicle to stop were ignored. The suspects proceeded east on Greens Farms Road, then south on Hillspoint Road to Compo Road South.
Officers were briefly unable to maintain visual contact due to the excessive speeds and reckless maneuvering of the suspects.
As it approached the intersection with Greens Farms Road, officers used stop sticks to strike the vehicle’s tires and slow its pace.
Other units then brought the vehicle to a controlled stop on
Greens Farms Road, just east of the Hales Road overpass.
Two suspects were quickly taken into custody, one while attempting to flee on foot and a second while seated inside the car. An initial search of the vehicle yielded neither of the reported stolen items nor firearms.
Believing these items had been discarded during the pursuit, all available
Westport and mutual aid units began a systematic search of the suspects’
path of travel, utilizing several officers and evidence recovery canines.
The handgun stolen from the victim was located on Hillspoint Road, near the
Hales Road intersection.
The stolen set of keys was recovered a short distance south of that item.
The stolen scanner was recovered on Compo Road South, near the Baron’s property.
The weapon used during the commission of the robbery has not yet been recovered.
At this time the suspect’s weapon used in the commission of this crime has
not been located. It is believed to have been discarded in the Hillspoint/Compo
Beach/Compo Road South area.
This weapon was reported by one of the suspects to be a facsimile firearm; however, that has not been definitively confirmed by the investigation.
Area residents are cautioned that it may eventually be located on private property. Officers will continue to maintain a heavy presence in these neighborhoods through the night and into the morning, attempting to find it.
Anyone finding the gun should not attempt to handle it. Contact the Westport Police Department immediately, so it can be safely collected.
Keith Greene, 32 years old of Waterbury, was arrested, and charged with:
• Robbery First Degree
• Conspiracy to Commit Robbery First Degree
• Theft of a Firearm
• Conspiracy to Commit Theft of a Firearm
• Larceny Second Degree
• Conspiracy to Commit Larceny Second Degree
• Illegal Transfer of a Firearm
• Criminal Possession of a Firearm
• Tampering with Evidence
• Interfering with an Officer
• Assault Second Degree with a Firearm
• Conspiracy to Commit Assault Second Degree with a Firearm
• Threatening First Degree
• Criminal Attempt to Commit Assault of a Police Officer
• Engaging Police in Pursuit
• Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle
• Reckless Endangerment First Degree
• Possession of Narcotics.
His bond was set at $500,000. He was unable to post it, and remains in custody. He will be arraigned at Stamford Superior Court tomorrow.
Davon Younger, 33, of Bridgeport was charged with:
• Robbery First Degree
• Conspiracy to Commit Robbery First Degree
• Theft of a Firearm
• Conspiracy to Commit Theft of a Firearm
• Larceny Second Degree
• Conspiracy to Commit Larceny Second Degree
• Illegal Transfer of a Firearm
• Criminal Possession of a Firearm
• Tampering with Evidence
• Interfering with an Officer
• Assault Second Degree with a Firearm
• Conspiracy to Commit Assault Second Degree with a Firearm
• Threatening First Degree.
He is currently on parole, and will be remanded to the custody of the
Department of Corrections.
Just lock these guys up for life already.
Who are “these guys?”
They have arrested two people. I’m not a lawyer, but even with a very lengthy list of charges, I don’t think our current laws would call for life imprisonment even if they were convicted of all the charges……
Or did you mean something else?
Excellent work by the WPD!!!! AND the witness.
Whatever happened to three strikes you’re out? Wasn’t that a democrat initiative?
Wouldn’t it be nice if not every post turned into a political debate? And I mean that from both sides.
Politics aside, I’m not surprised, it’s always the usual suspects.
Glad it’s resolved. Now can someone share how they were able to go at “high speed” on post road?
Touche
They definitely played the game, “Grand Theft Auto,” and were dodging and weaving.
LOL Brian – fleeing on Post Road is asking to get caught.
If they were on Post Road at all, it would have only been the distance from the bank to Compo South. Plus, taking the left from the bank to Compo South would not make any sense when trying to make a getaway.
Most likely they avoided Post Road, drove through the parking lot, and exited directly onto Compo South.
Post Road traffic, it’s a security feature
I wonder if these two had any connection with Westport? They didn’t accidentally stumble upon an armored vehicle driver exiting the bank.
Great work by our police!!!
Great job by Westport’s Finest! Thank goodness you are all safe.
We were on our way home waiting to turn left onto the Cibari Bridge in Saugatuck when we saw multiple police cars with lights and sirens cross the bridge heading up the hill. After we crossed the bridge and proceeded up the hill, we pulled over for another police car, and we saw the intersection with Compo Road South blocked with police vehicles.
We stopped, and as we did, we saw a car race up South Compo from the direction of the beach and rapidly turn right onto Greens Farms Road. All the police vehicles chased it down Greens Farms Road. We proceeded carefully down Greens Farms Road and saw a convergence of police vehicles surrounding the suspect vehicle and officers approaching the vehicle in the area by Assumption Cemetery.
To avoid the police activity, we crossed the bridge onto Hales Court and turned left onto Hillspoint to get home. As we crossed the Greens Farms Road intersection, we again saw the convergence of police activity by Assumption Cemetery and that the police had blocked all traffic in that area.
At the time, we had no idea what had happened, although the racing vehicle and volume of police activity suggested it had been something very serious.
While I am no expert on police chases, I must commend the Westport Police for a very well coordinated and safely executed effort that resulted in the capture of the armed felons.
We wish to thank all the officers we saw spring into action yesterday afternoon and safely resolve this major incident.
Excellent work WPD! And thank you to the Good Samaritan witness who intervened, and called the police promptly.
Kudos to Westport Police Department!
The best part, no one injured and the crime was foiled and the perps caught and charged.
Hope this message spreads “dont mess with Westport and it’s law enforcement!”
WPD are the best…Thanks for tracking down these disgusting criminals. Keep making the price too high!
Thank you tomoutbWestport Police Dept. And everyone else who participated in the arrest of the criminals!
I was in the bank when all of this transpired. The only thing I want to add to what has already been recounted is to just give a shout out to the bank manager Carlos who ensured the safety of the bank’s interior while remaining calm and composed the entire time.
And that it was fortunate this occurred just outside the vestibule rather than actually taking place inside the bank.
Kudos to Westport PD and CT state police. One question – how did they crack the code to get out of the TJ parking lot quickly?!? (joke)
Facsimile firearm?