Latest news with #HartfordSuperiorCourt
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Springfield man charged with DUI, wrong-way driving in Enfield
ENFIELD, Conn. (WWLP) – A Springfield man was arrested in Enfield on Saturday and faces multiple charges, including driving under the influence. The Connecticut State Police stated in a news release that at approximately 3:46 a.m. on Saturday, troopers received a 911 call regarding a vehicle driving north in the southbound lanes on I-91 near Exit 49 in Enfield. A second call came in shortly afterward, saying that the vehicle had now stopped at the bottom of the off-ramp at Exit 49, facing in the wrong direction. Ludlow police officer saves fawn after separation from mother State police and Enfield officers arrived in the area and spoke with the operator, identified as 25-year-old Tyzier Virola of Springfield. Troopers noticed visible signs of impairment when speaking with Virola, as well as a significant alcoholic odor coming from him. Virola submitted to Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and failed. He was arrested and charged with: Illegal Operation of a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol/Drugs Driving Wrong Way on a Divided Highway Improper Parking on Highway State police said that troopers later released Virola on a $2,500 bond. He is scheduled to appear at Hartford Superior Court on June 20. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Man charged with DUI after allegedly driving wrong way on I-91 in Enfield
ENFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) — State police say a Massachusetts man was arrested after driving the wrong way on Interstate 91 while under the influence early Saturday morning. Tyzier Virola, 25, of Springfield, Massachusetts was charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, driving wrong way on a divided highway, and improper parking on a highway. Metro-North back to normal after downed wires left passengers stranded The charges stem from about 3:45 a.m. Saturday, when troopers received word of a wrong way driver traveling north in the southbound lanes of I-91. The vehicle was later reported at the bottom of the Exit 49 off ramp, facing the wrong way. While speaking to the driver, troopers said they saw clear signs of impairment, including the odor of alcohol on him. He agreed to do Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, which state police say he failed to perform to standard. Virola was released from custody on a $2,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on June 20. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two people engaged in alleged ‘lewd activities' found in vehicle blocking CT state police barracks
A man and a woman were arrested in the early morning hours when a trooper allegedly found them half-dressed in a vehicle that was blocking the parking lot to the state police barracks in Hartford. The vehicle was spotted at 12:31 a.m. when a trooper assigned to the barracks tried pulling into the lot but was blocked by a white Porsche Macan SUV, according to Connecticut State Police. The vehicle was reportedly parked just beyond a sign that states 'Restricted Area No Trespassing Beyond This Point,' state police said. The trooper approached the vehicle and found two people partially undressed inside engaged in 'lewd activities,' according to state police. A man was in the driver seat and a woman was in the passenger seat. State police said both individuals were asked to 'compose themselves' before they were instructed to get out of the vehicle. Additional troopers responded to the scene. The driver was identified as 34-year-old Willie Ferrell of Bloomfield and the passenger was identified as 48-year-old Diandra Lysik, according to state police. Ferrell, state police said, allegedly showed 'clear signs of impairment' and failed field sobriety testing. When troopers spoke to Lysik, she claimed Ferrell had picked her up. While state police said she did not make a 'direct admission of a transaction,' troopers allegedly found three loose $10 bills in the top area of her purse that appeared to have just been put there. She later allegedly admitted that she engages in sex work, state police said. Ferrell and Lysik were arrested and escorted into the barracks. Inside Lysik's purse, state police alleged that they found wax folds with a powdery substance inside that tested positive for fentanyl and a white rock-like substance which tested positive as crack cocaine. Lysik is charged with use of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal trespassing and soliciting sexual acts/exchange for sexual conduct. She was held on a $1,000 bond and was expected to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday. Ferrell faces charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, improper parking, third-degree criminal trespassing and soliciting sexual acts/exchange for sexual conduct. He was released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear before a judge on May 30.
Associated Press
14-04-2025
- Associated Press
Driver acquitted in bikers' deaths in New Hampshire pleads guilty to impaired driving in Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A commercial truck driver who was acquitted in the 2019 deaths of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday for driving under the influence in Connecticut a month before the deadly crash — an offense that should have resulted in his license being revoked. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy appeared in Hartford Superior Court and entered an Alford plea, which means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged the state had enough evidence to win a conviction at trial. The plea results in a conviction, and he was sentenced to 18 months of probation. 'He clearly understands the significance of this,' Zhukovskyy's lawyer, John O'Brien, said during the brief court proceeding. Zhukovskyy, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, was arrested for driving under the influence in East Windsor, Connecticut, on May 11, 2019. Connecticut officials alerted the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, but Zhukovskyy's license wasn't immediately suspended due to a backlog of out-of-state notifications about driving offenses. On June 21, 2019, Zhukovskyy was driving a truck towing a flatbed trailer in Randolph, New Hampshire, that collided with the motorcyclists, killing seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, an organization of Marine Corps veterans and their spouses in New England. A jury in 2022 found him not guilty of multiple manslaughter and negligent homicide charges. At his trial, prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy — who had taken heroin, fentanyl and cocaine the day of the crash — repeatedly swerved back and forth before the collision and told police he caused it. But a judge dismissed eight impairment charges and his attorneys said the lead biker was drunk and not looking where he was going when he lost control of his motorcycle and slid in front of Zhukovskyy's truck. Zhukovskyy, who came to the U.S. as a child from Ukraine and had permanent residency status, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the 2022 verdict. A judge ordered his deportation last year, but the U.S. has paused repatriation flights to Ukraine due to the war with Russia and authorized temporary protected status for qualified Ukrainians.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
CT man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2023 crash that killed Hartford police officer
A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to felony charges in connection with a crash that killed a Hartford police officer and seriously injured another officer in 2023. Richard Barrington, 20, appeared Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court where he took a plea bargain that required him to plead guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault with extreme indifference to human life for the death of Hartford Det. Robert 'Bobby' Garten, according to court records. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Barrington was pulled over by two officers with the South Street Crimes Unit on Sept. 6, 2023, at 10:24 p.m. in the area of 285 Broad St. Officers allegedly saw him run a red light and found that the registration on the 2006 Honda Accord he was driving was canceled, police wrote in the warrant affidavit. Barrington, who was 18 years old at the time, initially pulled over for police but sped off as they approached his vehicle on foot, the warrant affidavit said. He would later tell investigators he was scared because he only had a learner's permit and the plate on the Accord belonged to another vehicle, according to the warrant affidavit. He also allegedly admitted to police he had a backpack with marijuana and a scale inside and that he had smoked marijuana about an hour before, police wrote. The officers who conducted the stop did not pursue Barrington, the Connecticut State Police who reviewed surveillance footage found. Footage also showed that Barrington ran a red light on Broad Street at the Farmington Avenue intersection and a second red light at Asylum Avenue where he struck a cruiser with its lights and sirens on with Officer Brian Kearney and the 34-year-old Garten inside, the warrant affidavit said. The officers were responding to an unrelated call for service and were unaware that an individual had just fled a traffic stop. Barrington allegedly told investigators he fled the crash and called a friend to tell him he was running from the police, the warrant affidavit said. Fallen Hartford detective laid to rest, leaving legacy of 'Bobby's Way' Garten, a second-generation police officer who was posthumously promoted to detective, was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m. Kearney suffered what state police described as 'life-altering' injuries, which included internal bleeding that threatened his life. He spent eight days in the hospital before he was released. Barrington was taken to Hartford Hospital for suspected minor injuries. He was evaluated hours after the crash by a drug recognition expert who allegedly concluded that his impairment from marijuana made him unfit to drive a car, the warrant affidavit said. Blood drawn from Barrington showed the presence of THC, according to the warrant affidavit. Barrington remains held on a $1 million bond and is expected to face sentencing on June 20. Under the terms of the plea deal, several charges are expected to be dropped, including those of operating under the influence, reckless driving, running from police and others. 'We will save our comments for Judge (David) Gold at the sentencing hearing on June 20,' Barrington's attorney, Bridgeport-based lawyer Cameron Atkinson, said Wednesday when asked for comment. 'Thanks for understanding.' A spokesperson for the Hartford Police Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
