Crime & Safety
Neighbor's Call Helps Police Catch Burglary Suspects
Two Hartford men quickly taken into custody when a woman alerts police after seeing a daytime burglary in progress; nearly $4,000 in electronics, jewelry reportedly stolen, police say.
An alert neighbor helped authorities solve a daytime home burglary on Prospect Avenue Friday and two Hartford men were taken into custody for allegedly stealing nearly $4,000 in electronics and jewelry, said.
The suspects, a convicted burglar and an alleged heroin addict, were stopped by Hartford police at about 1 p.m., less than an hour after the burglary was reported to police.
The neighbor told police she saw a man break in the front door of a Prospect Avenue home, between Mozart and Westphal streets, while no one was home shortly after noon. The woman called 911 while her father wrote down the license plate of a black Mazda sedan that was parked in the driveway.
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The information was relayed to Hartford police, who stopped the vehicle at 106 Webster Ave., police said.
The woman and her father identified the suspects, Marcos A. Marrero, 46, of 44 New Britain Ave., and Carlos A. Sanchez-Cotto, 43, of 484 Ann St., police said.
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Both men appeared Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court to face charges that included felony third-degree burglary and third-degree larceny.
Marrero, who has 14 arrests and multiple narcotics convictions, was described as a heroin addict by his public defender and was held on $75,000 bail.
Sanchez-Cotto, who was convicted of third-degree burglary in Hartford in September, was held on $100,000 bail. He was also wanted by Newington police in connection with a burglary, police said.
Police said the woman and her father identified the suspects on sight at the scene of the arrest, a short walk from Marrero's apartment. The father also told police he saw the men carry a TV out of the house with other items.
Among the goods allegedly stolen from the home were two large flat-screen televisions, a laptop computer, three digital cameras, four watches and two gold rings, police said. The value of the reported items was $3,780, two victims who live at the home told police.
The case was still under investigation. A complete inventory of possible stolen goods was not immediately made by the victims, police said.
