Alleged Thief Caught on Gilbert Lane With Tire-Iron

On Tuesday, May 24 at 9:48 a.m. the received a call about a suspicious person on Gilbert Lane in Branford. The witness called police after noticing a suspicious person and said a black male with a tire-iron standing near a car on Gilbert Lane and approached the person who said he was changing a tire.

The attentive witness called the Branford Police because of a message sent through the notification system, alerting residents in the area of recent thefts from vehicles.

Branford Police officers responded to the area and located the vehicle in question and conducted a neighborhood canvass. While doing the canvass, an officer found the rear door of 10 Gilbert Lane pried open and household items stacked up at the back door.

A perimeter was put in place around the house and a Connecticut State Police K-9 officer responded to assist with searching the residence for suspects.

Simultaneously, other officers continued to search the area and located a person matching the description of the suspicious person on Gilbert Lane, a short distance from the house. The house was searched and a crow bar was found in a bedroom.

The C.S.P. K-9 tracked from the tire-iron, directly to the location where the other officers had the suspicious person detained.

The witness later identified the detained person as the person who had the tire-iron. The suspect was identified as Gary Anthony Oliver, 40 of Gilbert Lane, Branford. Oliver was arrested without incident and charged with third degree burglary, possession of burglary tools, and sixth degree larceny. Oliver has an extensive record and is a convicted
felon for robbery and is currently being held on a $25,000 bond.

Chief John DeCarlo said, “An empowered community is a key element in crime reduction and the police cannot do their job effectively without community participation. B-Informed offers us an open channel of communication between the police and the public.”

Residents who want more information about the notification system can go the Branford Police website at www.branfordpolice.com and follow the B-Informed link. There they will be able to tailor the information they would like to receive in the future and register different ways to be notified including cell phones, pagers and
email address.

This is a Press Release from the Branford Police Department