West Hartford Carjacking Suspect's Bond Raised to $750,000

A Superior Court judge in Hartford on Monday raised the bond to $750,000 of a man suspected in the carjacking of an elderly man at the Elmwood Community Center last week.

Alexander “Alex” Diaz, 22, of Hartford, is charged with third-degree assault on a victim over 60, second-degree strangulation, second-degree threatening, second-degree larceny, third-degree larceny, second-degree criminal trover, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, three counts of assault on a police officer and third-degree robbery.

His bond was initially set at $500,000 and was subsequently raised in a court appearance on Monday, according to a Superior Court clerk.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 16.

Diaz allegedly took the keys by force from an elderly man at the Elmwood Community Center on Aug. 21 and drove off in the victim’s 2003 Toyota Camry. The victim, 79-year-old Patsy Brignano, was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The Hartford Courant reported that Brignano told police that he had just unlocked his car door when Diaz grabbed him by the throat.

"I thought I was going to die," Brignano told police, according to the Courant.

Diaz took $50 from Brignano and drove off, picking up three adults and two children along the way, according to NBC 30.

The Camry was subsequently located in Hartford by West Hartford detectives, police said. The West Hartford detectives and Hartford police attempted to stop the car, when it "rammed both police vehicles," a police report states.

After a brief chase, the Camry crashed into a fence near Broad and Lincoln streets, police said.