Police: Five youth arrested in thwarted vehicle theft in East Lyme
East Lyme — An attempted vehicle break-in resulted in the minor injury of one town officer after his cruiser was struck by a previously stolen vehicle, according to police.
The incident resulted in the arrest of five boys from central Connecticut early Wednesday morning.
East Lyme Police Department in a news release said town officers, including K-9 Dom, responded along with Waterford police and members of the Connecticut State Police K-9 unit following a 4:25 a.m. report that several people in ski masks were attempting to break into a vehicle on Faulkner Drive in Niantic.
The suspects fled in a vehicle onto Fairhaven Road after they were interrupted by a resident, according to police. Police Chief Mike Finkelstein said the vehicle they were in was reported stolen from Westbrook on Aug. 27.
"Upon seeing a responding officer, the operator of the vehicle put the car into reverse, striking the front of another responding police cruiser," the release said. "The occupants of the vehicle then fled into the woods behind homes on Fairhaven Drive."
Finkelstein said the officer in the cruiser that was struck sustained a minor back injury but kept working. He declined to identify the officer based on medical privacy concerns.
Five juvenile males, including the 15-year-old driver, were arrested after a roughly hourlong search, Finkelstein said.
One of the boys received a minor injury to his foot as a result of his fleeing into the woods and was transported to the Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for evaluation, according to police.
The 15-year-old male from Seymour was charged with third-degree assault, first-degree larceny by possession, first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny, third-degree criminal attempt at burglary and third-degree conspiracy to commit burglary.
Three males from New Haven, ages 14, 16 and 17, and a 15-year-old male from West Haven were charged with first-degree larceny by possession, first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny, third-degree criminal attempt at burglary and third-degree conspiracy to commit burglary.
One of the boys was turned over to Bridgeport's juvenile probation services on an outstanding warrant for other theft-related crimes, Finkelstein said.
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