09-05-2025
CT teen with history of vehicle thefts accused of stealing credit cards, making fraudulent purchases
A teenager suspected in several vehicle thefts around Connecticut was arrested Tuesday and accused of stealing debit and credit cards from a vehicle in Washington in March before using them to allegedly make a number of fraudulent purchases.
Jacek Gwiazda, 18, faces one count each of second-degree larceny and second-degree identity theft and four counts each of illegal use of a credit card and theft of a credit card, according to Connecticut State Police.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, an officer with the Washington Police Department, under the jurisdiction of state police, responded to a home on March 21 around 8 a.m. where a woman alleged that she was housesitting when someone in the overnight hours stole her purse from a locked vehicle. Inside the purse was about $70 and multiple debit and credit cards.
The woman told police she had parked her vehicle in the driveway around 3 a.m. She did not notice the theft until she went for her morning walk and found her purse and some items that were inside scattered along Wheaton Road, she told police. The cash and the credit cards were missing.
While speaking to the officer, the woman was receiving fraud alerts about her cards, the warrant affidavit said. They paused the interview to allow her to cancel them, which were reportedly being used in multiple towns.
The stolen cards were reportedly used at multiple gas stations as well as WalMart, Target, Walgreens and Dollar Tree stores in Shelton, Derby, Ansonia and Seymour, the warrant affidavit said. More than $3,191 in fraudulent charges were racked up.
Police found that there were no other thefts reported in the area, though multiple people near the New Milford town line reported seeing individuals wearing hoods trying to get into parked cars, according to the warrant affidavit. The individuals were seen on a doorbell camera arriving in an Audi SUV before checking the vehicles. The same individuals were believed to be involved in a stolen vehicle case in New Milford the previous night, the warrant affidavit said.
Investigators were able to obtain video surveillance footage from multiple merchants where the stolen cards were used. They found a man in dark clothing with a hood, wearing a pink surgical mask, buying multiple Visa gift cards, the warrant affidavit said.
Police found that the same individual was tied to other thefts reported in Newtown, Wilton, Monroe, Seymour, New Milford and Washington, according to the warrant affidavit.
On March 31, state troopers responded to a home in Washington where a resident alleged that their Mazda had been stolen in the overnight hours, the warrant affidavit said. Three days later, the vehicle was recovered in Ansonia. It was towed and processed for evidence by investigators.
One of the DNA swabs taken from inside the vehicle was turned over to the Waterbury Police Department, which uses a system that processes suspected single-source samples and generates a DNA profile in 90 minutes, according to the warrant affidavit.
The DNA was compared against offenders in Connecticut whose DNA sample had been collected from previous felony convictions, though it did not produce a hit, the warrant affidavit said. It did, however, match DNA samples taken during criminal investigations in North Haven and West Haven, police wrote. In one of those cases, police found that Gwiazda had been charged, the warrant affidavit said.
A sergeant from the West Haven Police Department informed the Washington officer that Gwiazda is a known vehicle thief who was allegedly tied to a stolen Mazda, according to the warrant affidavit. He was also allegedly involved in a in a run-in with law enforcement on March 26, the warrant affidavit said.
In that case, members of the New Haven Police Department Criminal Intelligence Unit, Shooting Task Force and Regional Auto Theft Task Force tried stopping an Alfa Romeo that had been stolen in Southbury. The driver intentionally struck two unmarked cruisers during the getaway, the warrant affidavit said. During the incident, an investigator reported having a 'clear, unobstructed' view of the driver and identified him as Gwiazda, according to the warrant affidavit.
Days after the incident, law enforcement officials conducted surveillance at a residence where Gwiazda was believed to be living. They allegedly spotted him multiple times trying to remove a license plate from a blue Mazda SUV that was parked in the driveway and had been reported stolen in Litchfield, the warrant affidavit said. He was also allegedly seen driving not far away to a stolen Volkswagen Atlas that was parked on Meadow Street, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators allegedly witnessed Gwiazda take a license plate from the Atlas before leaving the area, the warrant affidavit said.
Authorities later obtained a warrant charging Gwiazda with having the stolen Mazda and the Alfa Romeo, the latter of which was recovered in New Haven, according to the warrant affidavit. On April 2, investigators went to the home where Gwiazda had been residing and used a battering ram to get inside, the warrant affidavit said. They used a search and seizure warrant to search the residence, allegedly finding six different key fobs, two handguns and ammunition, according to the warrant affidavit.
Gwiazda was arrested on a number of firearm charges. According to the warrant affidavit, his juvenile criminal history includes 'upwards of 10 arrests' for stolen vehicles.
The officer investigating the credit card thefts in Washington was able to obtain video surveillance from the merchants where the stolen cards were used. A West Haven police sergeant involved in the stolen motor vehicle investigation was able to identify Gwiazda as the individual using the stolen cards, the warrant affidavit said.
Gwiazda is being held on bonds totaling $190,000, according to the Connecticut Department of Correction. He is scheduled to face a judge in Derby Superior Court on June 26 in connection with the stolen credit card allegations.
According to Judicial Branch records, Gwiazda has five pending cases in which he faces stolen vehicle, firearm, violation of probation and other charges.
