By James Tinley
Register Staff
MILFORD — A New Haven teenager who police believed took part in a Halloween holdup of trick-or-treaters was arrested because of a case of mistaken identity, Assistant State’s Attorney Charles Stango said Wednesday.
Stango told Superior Court Judge John Ronan that the case against Jorge Fernandez was dropped or “nolled,” because the police arrested the wrong person.
Fernandez, 16, of 102 Sherland Ave., was arrested because police believed he matched the description provided by victims of a white male wearing a Baltimore Orioles baseball hat. But Fernandez, who was found with a group of people in the area of the robbery, is Hispanic and was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals baseball hat, Stango said.
“I don’t know if your honor is a baseball fan, but that’s the difference between a black hat and a red hat,” Stango said to Ronan, referring to the colors of the two teams when explaining why the charges against Fernandez were nolled.
Since the charges were nolled, the prosecutor retains the right to reopen the case during the next 13 months, and if it is not reopened during that time, the charges are formally dismissed.
The charges stem from a Halloween night robbery of candy and a Halloween mask on Forest Road near the Interstate 95 overpass.
A 20-year-old and a 16-year-old told police they were trick-or-treating when they were approached by two teenagers. They told police one was wearing a hockey mask and had what they believed to be a handgun.
The gun turned out to be a “soft-pellet, facsimile handgun” that was found on the ground near where a group of teens was stopped. The suspects in the robbery were identified by police as Akil Bovell, 17, of 16 Westminster Court, New Haven and Fernandez, who were both arrested that night. The Halloween “trick” brought with it the potential of serious penalties as the two were charged with first-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit those crimes.
Police said they believe Bovell is the one who held the pellet gun and the case against him is pending in Superior Court at Milford. Stango said two independent witnesses have identified the actual accomplice and he expects charges against him to be filed soon.
James Tinley can be reached at jtinley@nhregister.com or 876-3030.