Police and firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the Oak Terrace housing complex, located at 53 Conrad St., around 2:30 a.m. where the first officer on scene spotted smoke coming from one of the apartments and a person who was unable to get out, according to the Naugatuck Fire Department.

Firefighters located and removed an 86-year-old woman and quickly put out the blaze, officials said. The woman — the sole occupant of the unit — suffered serious burns. She was transported in an ambulance to Bridgeport Hospital where she was pronounced dead hours later, the Naugatuck Police Department said.

According to fire officials, no other residents of the complex were displaced.

The fire is under investigation by the Naugatuck Fire Marshal. According to police, the Office of the State Fire Marshal is assisting with the investigation.

Emergency crews responded to a residence at 155 North Ivy St., Unit 49 on Monday just after 2 p.m. on the report of smoke coming from the home, according to the Branford Fire Department.

Firefighters found a working fire when they arrived and launched an aggressive interior attack, fire officials said. They put out the blaze and searched the residence, finding a dead individual. The victim’s name is being withheld while officials make next-of-kin notifications.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Branford Fire Marshal, Branford Police Department and the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit.

Fire officials noted that a fatal fire occurred at the same residential complex on Dec. 26. No evidence suggesting a connection between the two fires has been found, officials said.

The lockdown and shelter-in-place order was put into effect in the morning hours at Momauguin Elementary School, according to Capt. Joseph M. Murgo of the East Haven Police Department.

Murgo said the lockdown was enacted as a precaution when police received the report of an individual possibly in possession of a firearm in the Breezewood Condo Complex at 130 Coe Ave. around 8:10 a.m. According to Google Maps, the school is three-tenths of a mile away from the complex.

East Haven Public Safety Dispatch alerted officers that the caller reported being threatened by a man who allegedly pointed a rifle at him from a condominium window during a verbal altercation, according to Murgo.

Murgo said investigators “immediately” made contact with “all involved parties” in the firearm complaint and secured the scene. The lockdown was lifted after a “brief” time, he said.

Officers spoke with the caller, who described the incident and pointed out the unit where the alleged armed man lived. Investigators determined that the man, later identified as 50-year-old Vincent Esposito, allegedly pointed a rifle at the complainant while making verbal threats during the dispute, which allegedly stemmed from a complaint about loud music coming from a car as it was warming up, Murgo said.

Officers made several attempts to make contact with Esposito, who eventually came out of his residence and was taken into police custody, according to Murgo. Officers reportedly located a BB rifle in Esposito’s residence that matched the description provided by the complainant. It was seized and secured, Murgo said.

Esposito was transported to the East Haven Police Department where he was charged with first-degree threatening, carrying or sale of a dangerous weapon and second-degree breach of peace. He was being held on a $100,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 5, according to Murgo.

Police are asking residents in the area to review any video footage they have that may aid in the investigation. Any relevant video can be sent to Officer Ryan Michalowski at rmichalowski@easthavenpolice.com.

Alicia Davis, 35, turned herself in last Friday at Troop F in Westbrook on a warrant charging her with second-degree harassment and second-degree stalking, according to Connecticut State Police.

The warrant affidavit supporting Davis’ arrest said the superintendent of Regional School District 4 contacted the Essex Resident State Trooper on Jan. 2 and reported that a school official had received multiple emails from Davis, a mother of two children in the district. The emails were described as “inflammatory” and “disturbing.”

The school official told the trooper that Davis had sent her at least five emails over the holiday break and a friend request on Facebook. The woman — who described herself as an advocate for Davis and her children — said the information in the emails was indicative of Davis doing research on her and her family, the warrant affidavit said.

“Ms. Davis made reference to my children and my sick (redacted), who is battling brain cancer, and seemingly wished death upon my (redacted) which was disturbing,” the victim told police in a statement, according to the warrant affidavit.

“May the lord bless you with the year you deserve,” Davis reportedly wrote in one of the emails, the warrant affidavit said. “I really pray that the lord doesn’t punish you by allowing your (redacted) to die because of all the harm and abuse you are willing to inflict unto other children, publicly asking for help for your family and expecting people to help meanwhile you turn your backs on other children who are also in life or death situations.”

“I was very disturbed to find out that your family has a childhood cancer case and yet you are still so careless and reckless with other peoples lives,” Davis wrote, according to the warrant affidavit. “I hope the world doesn’t turn your back on you and leave your (redacted) to suffer and die alone like you’ve all done to my kids.”

In another email, Davis allegedly demanded a reply and told the victim “I hate your guts,” according to the warrant affidavit. She also reportedly referenced a previous communication with her, advising her “before you go crying about how you think I’ll hurt you or other kids” that it was a “voice message that got messed up,” the warrant affidavit said.

Davis also allegedly wrote that once her kids were “safe and out,” she would get her “real final (redacted) out that’ll send you crying to the police…,” according to the warrant affidavit.

The victim told police that Davis had previously told her she had researched her using Google and knew her marital status, family status and “other intimate details that she does not have any reason knowing,” the warrant affidavit said.

According to the warrant affidavit, the trooper noted that he had previously investigated a harassment complaint involving Davis last September and that, since April 2024, she has had an “extensive record of alarming emails” involving other administrators.

State police obtained a warrant for Davis’ arrest before she turned herself in. She is free on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in New Britain Superior Court on Feb. 7.

Ramon Apellaniz, also known as “Kristopher Rockefeller” and “Kris,” 39, of Middletown and Suhail Aponte, 38, of Wethersfield were each charged with one count of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

According to federal officials, in June 2021, Minds Cornerstone LLC. — which did business as Minds Cornerstone Behavior Therapy Services  or “Minds Cornerstone” — was registered with the state as an autism specialist group. Aponte, who is not a licensed provider, was listed as its manager and registered agent, officials said.

Federal authorities also noted that Aponte was employed by the State of Connecticut in the Office of Policy and Management from May 2022 until November 2024.

Beginning in November 2021, Apellaniz, Aponte and Minds Cornerstone allegedly defrauded the Connecticut Medicaid Program by submitting fraudulent claims for applied behavior analysis services to children diagnosed with autism, federal officials said.

Officials noted that Apellaniz was previously convicted in connection with an unrelated health care fraud scheme. Though he was not listed on any of Minds Cornerstone’s Medicaid enrollment forms and had no ownership interest or signatory authority to any of its bank accounts, authorities allege he conspired with Aponte and ran the company under a pseudonym, including while he was incarcerated.

Officials allege Apellaniz and Aponte billed Medicaid for services purportedly rendered to patients when company payroll records indicate employees were not compensated for the associated services. Some of the services billed to Medicaid were also purported to have been delivered to patients who were actually in an inpatient hospital, according to authorities.

Parents of patients and former employees were able to confirm for authorities that some of the services did not occur, officials said.

Authorities allege Apellaniz and Aponte defrauded the state out of more than $1.8 million between November 2021 and December 2024 through the fraudulent Medicaid claims.

They each appeared in federal court in Hartford on Thursday. Aponte is free on a $100,000 bond, while Apellaniz has been detained pending a hearing scheduled for next Thursday.

According to federal officials, Apellaniz’s previous conviction stems from when he operated The Gemini Project, LLC (“Gemini”), a Newington-based business that offered counseling to patients with mental, behavioral and emotional disorders. At the time, he was not a licensed provider, officials said.

In 2020, Apellaniz was arrested on state charges of larceny, health care fraud and identity theft. Authorities said the charges stemmed from allegations he provided services to numerous Medicaid beneficiaries as a non-licensed provider. Those services, as well as those that were not provided, were billed to Medicaid by Gemini, according to officials.

Federal officials said Medicaid paid Gemini and Apellaniz $909,268 for the false claims. He later pleaded no contest in the case.

On April 17, 2024, Apellaniz was sentenced in Hartford Superior Court to eight years in prison, suspended after service of 15 months, and five years of parole. He was released from state custody on Nov. 19, 2024.

According to federal officials, investigators believe Apellaniz used some of the funds from the Minds Cornerstone scheme to pay restitution he owed in the Gemini case.

Tyshon Walker, 26, faces charges of criminal possession of a firearm, possession of an assault weapon and criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, according to Connecticut State Police.

The charges stem from an incident reported on May 7, 2024, on I-384 where a man reported being shot at by the driver of a dark BMW, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The victim got off the highway and initially reported the incident to an officer with the Manchester Police Department.

Troopers responded to the scene shortly after 12:30 a.m. after it was discovered that the shooting took place on the highway. The man told police he was not struck by gunfire.

The victim said he was driving on Interstate 291 East when he noticed a driver to the right of him slowed down and got behind him, the warrant affidavit said. As they entered the ramp that got onto I-384, the man alleged that the other driver sped off and weaved in and out of traffic.

The man said he believed the driver was “messing around” so he followed and caught up to him, according to the warrant affidavit. As he did, he said the other driver allegedly swerved and nearly hit his vehicle. The other driver then allegedly opened his window and began firing gunshots at him, the warrant affidavit said.

The man estimated that seven to eight shots were fired from a weapon that sounded fully automatic. The gunshots struck the man’s vehicle.

According to the warrant affidavit, state police shut down the highway and recovered five shell casings. After being sent to the lab for analysis, the National Ballistic Information Network found that the casings matched those that were recovered from a shooting in July 2023 in Hartford where 26 casings were recovered, the warrant affidavit said. A residence was struck during that shooting.

State police investigating the incident on I-384 used a license plate reader to obtain the BMW information. The information was shared with other law enforcement agencies before it was discovered that Walker was reportedly affiliated with the vehicle, according to the warrant affidavit.

During the investigation, state police also found that the East Hartford Police Department had a warrant for Walker’s arrest stemming from a shooting in their town. During that incident, more than 50 shell casings were recovered, according to the warrant affidavit. State police wrote that Walker, who was shot during the incident, was not cooperative with East Hartford investigators.

Walker was found lying next to a dumpster during the East Hartford incident where investigators recovered a stolen Glock handgun that was later reportedly found to have his DNA on it, the warrant affidavit said. That case remains pending in Manchester Superior Court where Walker faces a number of firearm and drug charges.

During the investigation into the highway incident, state police said investigators obtained a search warrant for Walker’s apartment. The state police Tactical Unit carried out the search in September and reportedly seized a Glock Gen4 firearm with an automatic switch, an extended magazine loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition, 232 wax folds of fentanyl, a bag containing 65 grams of a white rock-like substance, a bottle containing 18 unknown pills, $6,775, as well as other drugs and paraphernalia, the warrant affidavit said.

According to online court records, state police arrested Walker following the search on multiple drug and firearm charges. That case remains pending in Tolland Superior Court.

The warrant for Walker’s arrest in connection with the highway shooting was signed by a judge on Thursday. He was charged while he was being held at the Hartford Correctional Center.

Walker was being held on a $1 million bond in the highway case alone and was expected to go before a judge on Friday.

Jason Suprenant, 40, of Columbia turned himself in on Thursday on one count of second-degree breach of peace, according to Connecticut State Police.

The arrest comes after a heated argument at a recreational basketball game at the Horace Porter School last Saturday spilled outside and led to Suprenant being struck by a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Bryan Baez-Rivera of Willimantic, according to the warrant affidavit supporting Suprenant’s arrest. The game being played involved third and fourth grade students.

CT youth coach accused of hitting person with car after verbal altercation at girls basketball game

According to state police, troopers spoke to Baez-Rivera after he called authorities and said he had stopped at a nearby business. He reportedly told police he was coaching the visitors’ team and that, after they lost, a player from the other team told his daughter that they were “not good,” the warrant affidavit said. His daughter plays on the team he coaches.

Baez-Rivera told state police he then approached the home team’s coach about the comment, to which the coach later said he would suspend the girl who made the remark during their next game, according to the warrant affidavit. Baez-Rivera told police the issue then somehow escalated into an argument between parents from the opposing teams, according to the warrant affidavit. As he went outside, he said he saw multiple people yelling at his girlfriend.

According to the warrant affidavit, Baez-Rivera said he got into his car along with his girlfriend and his two children and tried to leave. As he did, he passed Suprenant who was sitting in his car.

Suprenant then reportedly got out of his vehicle and started following after Baez-Rivera’s car, state police said.

A review of the video surveillance from the school showed that Suprenant followed the vehicle and blocked it from using the road to exit the school grounds while appearing to be “yelling and agitated,” according to the warrant affidavit. From about 100 yards away, Baez-Rivera accelerated and drove directly into Suprenant, state police wrote in the warrant affidavit.

Suprenant could be seen going over the hood of the vehicle and landing on the ground, the warrant affidavit said.

Troopers noted that Baez-Rivera did not appear to make any type of evasive maneuver to avoid the collision. He was taken into custody and charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor and a single count each of second-degree breach of peace, second-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment.

When troopers arrived at the scene shortly after 11:20 a.m., Suprenant was holding his head in pain. He was taken to Hartford Hospital with injuries troopers described as minor to moderate.

The trooper who reviewed the video footage alleged that Suprenant “was the primary aggressor” leading up to the crash and “proceeded to stand in the middle of the exit road preventing (Baez-Rivera) from leaving,” the warrant affidavit said. A warrant for his arrest was signed by a judge on Thursday.

Following his arrest, Suprenant was released on a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear at Rockville Superior Court on Jan. 30.

Baez-Rivera is also free on a $5,000 bond and is set to face a judge next Friday.

Edward Vickers, 40, of Ansonia was taken into custody after authorities spotted his vehicle in Bridgeport and conducted surveillance until he returned, according to the Shelton Police Department.

Once he was spotted, Vickers was apprehended by members of the DEA New Haven Office, New Haven Police Department, Bridgeport Police Department, Bridgeport Auto Theft Task Force and Connecticut State Police.

According to authorities, Vickers was charged by Bridgeport police with offenses unrelated to the incident in Shelton. He was then turned over to Shelton police who held a warrant for him on narcotics and firearm charges, including those of possession of a high-capacity magazine, possession of a sawed off shotgun, illegal alteration of a firearm, criminal possession of firearm, illegal possession of an assault weapon, theft of a firearm and criminal possession of body armor.

Those charges stem from an incident on Nov. 1, 2023, when officers responded to an apartment in downtown Shelton where a woman believed an intruder was in the unit. Officers who investigated the burglary report could not find anyone in the apartment, but they spotted in “plain sight” an AK-47 with a high-capacity magazine in one of the bedrooms, according to police.

The Shelton Police Department Detective Bureau then assumed the investigation and carried out a search warrant in the apartment, reportedly finding 13 illegal firearms, numerous high-capacity magazines, narcotics and body armor, police said. While searching the apartment, investigators reported finding unspecified “personal information” for Vickers, who was not present at the time, according to police.

Detectives later obtained a warrant for Vicker’s arrest. He was held on $1.5 million bond and was expected to appear Friday in Derby Superior Court.

Firefighters responded to a blaze at an unoccupied building on Ward Street around 11:45 p.m. and found that the three-story structure was fully engulfed in flames, according to the Hartford Fire Department.

The fire was so intense the structure collapsed and spread to another three-story building occupied by multiple families, fire officials said. Everyone inside made it out safely.

The fire was put out but not before the vacant building and the multi-family structure sustained heavy damage. As a result, 20 people were left without a home, officials said. This included 18 adults and two children.

The fire department’s Special Services Unit and the American Red Cross responded to assist the displaced residents.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

State troopers responded to a report of the crash at 7:47 p.m. on Route 72 West in the area of Exit 2, according to Connecticut State Police.

Troopers found that a 25-year-old Waterbury woman, driving a 2016 BMW X1, lost control of the vehicle and entered the left shoulder where she struck a metal beam guardrail. State police said the vehicle then rolled over and came to rest in the grass median.

The driver and her five passengers suffered serious, possibly life-threatening injuries, according to state police.

The passengers included an 18-year-old Naugatuck woman and four Waterbury residents, state police said. They were identified as a 24-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man, a 20-year-old woman and a 39-year-old woman.

The victims were taken in ambulances to area hospitals.

The crash remains under investigation.

Any witnesses or drivers in the area with dashboard camera footage have been asked to contact Trooper Kaitlyn DeMaio at 860-534-1098 or kaitlyn.demaio@ct.gov.