HIATUS

I've taken quite a hiatus haven't I? I Don't thik there's anyone out there anyway who takes interest in my blog.. But I don't care... This is *my* vault of memories...

I think this has been quite the summer for local shocking news... Especially in the Stamford and Greenwich areas.

I'm going to sit back and reminisce, try to catch up on any noteworthy news..

Earliest local news that comes to mind was a few months back when a 2 year old, Massimo Furano and his grandmother, Anna S. Furano, were found drowned in their koi pond over on Fox's Lane in Greenwich...Very tragic.

Joe Schiano, who was slightly younger than me and had mutual friends in common with me, passed away after serving two terms in the Marines.. Unfortunatley he died in a car accident in New York after returning from duties.

I believe a few days after that I learned of a car with two women driving on I-95 in Cos Cob over the Mianus Bridge... A bolt fell off of a dump truck in front of their car, and it flew threw the window into the passenger's head, killing her. Can you imagine?

As the summer goes on all you hear about, sadly, is all the murders in Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk... Then, more noticible news again out of Stamford- on Bedford Street behind the diner (very close to an apartment I work sometimes) was found a 39 year old man hanging from a tree in the back part of the parking lot.

Close in time to that was another suicide of a 2o year old Stamford junior volunter firefighter, his body found in a Belltown grass field.

Jasmine Brown, an inspiring fashion designer from NY was high on PCP, climbed a tree naked and fell out of it, killing herself. Imagine that horrible scene..

In a bit of national news- as we all know, over the weekend a helicopter full of Navy Seals (3o) was shot down. One of them, Brian Bill, was from Stamford. Thank you for paying the ultimate price while fighting for our country....

A 92 year old man, trying to park in a handicapped spot, accidently floored his Honda, plowing threw a pole and proceeding to crash 20 feet into Cafe Oo La La on Summer Street (Ridgeway Shopping Center), sending people flying all over the place. Miracously no one was killed, but a baby and a pregnant woman were injured in all the mess. Thus sparks the debate again on modifying driving conditions for elderly drivers. Is it really all that hard for the DMV to put in place a system where the eldery driver would have a simulated road test say at the person's physician's office or even at the DMV itself? God forbid we spent any on insuring people can stay safe on the roads and keep clear of crazy old grandpa who's too proud and dementiated to take himself off the road. They are actually charging him ... Not sure for what but good for them! His family shouldn't have let him drive.

The next day, which I believe was Tuesday, I heard of a poor woman on route in Wilton who must've not even seen it coming when a dump truck hit her Ford Taurus, killing her and injuring three others (including a six year old) in the car. The car pulled out from a church, right into the path of the dump truck that couldn't stop in time. The driver of that car was 91, and was the victim's father. Her grandaughter was next to her, and probably saw her die.

Why did these people have the grandfather drive??? He could've killed his six year old grandaughter as well...Bad enough now he has to live knowing he killed his daughter. Sad and tragic, shouldn't have happened.

This morning I read that a car hit into a construction site, killing the driver, a 23 year old Greenwich resident, Michael Defruscio. Two years younger than I am, but I do not recognize the name..

It's sad but true that most news we hear of is depressing and negative, but if it wasn't something so shocking it wouldn't be newsworthy. There is some news lately that's been amusing and some news that actually is postive.

A month or two ago a mountain lion was spotted in Greenwich, and then a few days later found dead in Milford on the turnpike. It was found out that the mounatin lion had actually migrated from North Dakota, something that was unheard of for mountain lions until now! Apparently there were two new sightings this past Sunday... So are there more or what??

Here's a picture of my Uncle Mike, middle, on duty and it looks like he's with a search for the lion. (lol)

Remember Charla Nash, the poor woman who had her face pretty much torn off by that ape in backcountry Stamford? She succesfully completed a 20 hour facial transplant a few days ago, and unveiled her new face for all to see in both national and local articles. Good for you, Charla!

Christopher Simonelli in Court Today

Remember my little friend here that I heard about on the police scanner, my mom, the news, and then found on facebook?

Here he is boys! And he still has quite a following of supporters as I see by his wall. Good for them all, he needs all the support he can get.

I'm glad that the judge is being so harsh, he's right in the fact that this ordeal could have been devastatingly worse, in fact, it's almost a miracle it wasn't.

Again, my baby sister, mom, and grandmother all missed being in that chaos by only a minute or two.

Police: Box-trucker driver on PCP during East Side rampage

STAMFORD -- The city man who stole a box-truck from his employer and went on a destructive and violent drive through the East Side last month had drugs in his system when he was transported to Stamford Hospital, court records show.

Based on initial toxicology tests, police accident investigators believe Christopher Simonelli, 30, of Frederick Street, was on PCP during the alleged Nov. 16 rampage, which ended when he smashed into the side of a school bus carrying 27 Stamford High School students, injuring 12 of them.

Following a weeks-long investigation, Simonelli was arrested Thursday morning on a litany of felony charges, including several first-degree assault offenses and 25 counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Simonelli had been acting irrationally at his workplace before the incident, "posing topless" at work at one point, court papers show.

He stole the truck from his employer Action Letter, Inc., on Elm Court at 2:22 p.m. and then raced through the CTTransit bus maintenance facility there, police said.

The truck crashed through the rear gate of the CTTransit property, then hurtled north on Myrtle Avenue before turning west on East Main Street.

The accidents shut down a quarter-mile stretch of East Main Street from Glenbrook Road to Myrtle Avenue until 7:15 p.m., causing major gridlock throughout the downtown area.

A bearded Simonelli, who suffered life-threatening injuries and was extricated from the box-truck with power tools, made his court appearance in a wheelchair with a cut over his left eye and his right hand bandaged.

Defense attorney Lindy Urso said Simonelli broke both his legs in the series of car crashes. A search warrant included in his court file details his injuries, among them a broken right wrist, right thigh and right ankle.

State Superior Court Judge Richard Comerford ordered Simonelli be held on $150,000 bond, $50,000 higher than the amount requested by prosecutors.

Police arranged for Simonelli to be held at the University of Connecticut Medical Center in Farmington, a secure facility at which he can begin rehabilitating his serious injuries.

"This could have been many counts of manslaughter," Comerford said, explaining his reasons for increasing the bond amount. "This is a very serious matter."

A 15-year-old was seriously injured when Simonelli allegedly crashed into a car driven by her relatives, police said. She was originally transported to Stamford Hospital in critical condition because of a serious head injury, but her condition was quickly upgraded. She suffered a large cut to the left side of her head, above her left eye, that required 10 stitches and will likely leave a scar, court papers said.

A witness who followed Simonelli during his destructive drive told police he would accelerate after smashing into each car, saying that Simonelli was intentionally crashing into other vehicles, court papers show. The witness said Simonelli tried to reverse the box-truck after hitting a full-sized school bus, but the vehicle stalled because of extensive damage.

Three of the high school students on the bus were seriously injured. A male student who sat at the point of impact fractured his left shoulder blade. A female student lost consciousness as a result of the impact and kept passing out after Simonelli's alleged rampage. A second male student suffered a concussion in the crash and was told to refrain from sports for two weeks, court papers said.

Officers interviewed Simonelli's boss at Action Letter, Inc., Ellen Connery, an arrest warrant affidavit shows. She told police she saw Simonelli standing by his work station without his shirt sometime before the alleged rampage.

At one point, he took the keys for the truck and left the Elm Court business. She was unaware of any problems or arguments with Simonelli. In a follow-up interview, she said Simonelli was afraid of losing his job, but she had assured him he was not going to be laid off.

In addition to the initial drug tests, Stamford police investigators had a department mechanic inspect the box-truck. The mechanic could not check several objects because they were damaged, but he concluded the truck was well-maintained.

Simonelli is due back in court Jan. 11.

[check out video]

Dad who ate eyes found mentally incompetent

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The man accused of biting out his 4-year-old son's eyes will not stand trial.

A Kern County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that Angelo Mendoza is not mentally competent for trial. County mental health officials will recommend whether Mendoza should go to a county or state mental health facility.

The 34-year-old man is accused of attacking his son, Angelo Mendoza Jr., in late April. The child, who was discovered by a neighbor lying naked in a bloody heap on the floor of an Ohio Drive apartment, told officers, "My daddy ate my eyes," and, "Daddy bit my eyes and hands," according to Bakersfield police reports.

Mendoza is in a wheelchair with a spinal cord injury, and police said he rolled away from his apartment after the alleged attack and started hacking away at his leg with an ax. Police reported that Mendoza was showing signs of being under the influence of the psychedelic drug best known as PCP or angel dust during the alleged abuse.

Criminal proceedings have been delayed multiple times because Mendoza was reportedly in poor medical condition and uncommunicative.

The first doctor to examine Mendoza for mental competency determined last month that he would be mentally competent to stand trial if he was on proper medication. Another psychiatrist was appointed after the July 23 hearing, leading to Tuesday's ruling.

Charges of mayhem, torture, child cruelty and inflicting injury upon a child have been put on hold. A person in Mendoza's situation would typically be re-evaluated on a regular basis to determine if they're mentally sound enough to face charges, according to the public defender's office.

Mendoza is scheduled to return to court Sept. 22.

Naked vandal trashes Seattle church

SEATTLE - Services were moved to the parking lot of a Rainier Beach church after a naked man smashed through a window Saturday, spattering HIV-positive blood inside and leaving a trail of destruction through the house of worship.

Officials believe the 46-year-old suspect was high on PCP during his unholy rampage through the Unity Church of God in Christ - and now the church interior is considered a bio-hazard because of the tainted blood inside.

The bizarre incident left church members in shock, but now they're learning it may be more than just a coincidence - because, as it turns out, the suspect's brother killed himself there on church property on the same Sunday 29 years ago.

Neighbors say it was about 4 a.m. Saturday when the man hurled his naked body against a window and smashed through.

The jagged, broken glass left cuts all over his body that created a trail of blood spatters and smears throughout the interior of the church.

The pastor, Rev. James Hicks, says church members started cleaning up the mess until they learned that the man is HIV-positive and has hepatitis C - possibly creating a bio-hazard inside the house of worship.

The rampage went from room to room - a picture gallery was torn from the walls, a trophy case was broken open, mirrors were shattered - and blood was smeared on walls, fixtures and furniture.

"Just to see (the pictures) torn up on the floor. It was really, really really devastating to us," says the pastor.

"The thing is that he cut himself, and he had blood all over the trophy case, blood where the mirror was, blood around the doors."

The naked vandal triggered an alarm, and police arrested him outside a short time later. He's now in jail for investigation of burglary.

Volunteers got busy cleaning up until they realized the potential danger. "They said, 'We don't suggest that you do this clean-up,'" Hicks says.

The church scheduled an outdoor service in the parking lot for Sunday morning after they realized they could not use the sanctuary.

"That just knocked the wind out of our sails, cause we knew then we had to do something different," Hicks said.

But church members say they have already forgiven the man, whose brother hung himself from a tree on church property on the first Sunday of June 29 years ago.

"I don't think it's a coincidence, and I believe that my neighbor said he heard him saying, 'I love you, I love you,' and he heard all that tearing up and commotion," explains church member Angelia Hicks-Maxie.

At the outdoor Sunday morning service, the pastor remembered the man in his prayers.

"Oh God, we ask that you look upon the young man who did this - amen. Because our business is forgiveness, yes, Lord."

Church member Billy Williams says, "The Bible says things work together for the good. And we don't understand it but our business is forgiveness and soul-saving, and some strange way God will get the glory out of this."

Now, the reaching out is both ways.

"His brother actually called," says the pastor, "and apologized on behalf of his brother so the forgiveness, the emotions are already starting to the healing can begin."

Father Accused Of Eating Child's Eyes Out

UGGGGGGH!!
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- "It was pretty bizarre," said neighbor Ramon Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was one of the first to discover 34-year-old Angelo Mendoza on April 28 after police said Mendoza bit an eyeball out of his 4-year-old son's face and ate it.

"The guy was crazy. Real bug-eyed; he had to be on drugs," said Rodriguez

Court documents said neighbors checked on Mendoza's son, Angelo Jr., after they noticed the father acting nervously and fleeing from his east Bakersfield apartment in his wheelchair. Inside, they found little Angelo naked and bleeding. Police said the boy had numerous bites to his hands and his eyes were swollen shut. Doctors said the boy's left eye and muscle were completely missing. His other eye was mutilated beyond repair. The boy told them, "My daddy ate my eyes out." Rodriguez said meanwhile Mendoza approached him at a neighbor's vacant house down the street.

Rodriguez said the boy's father wheeled himself into the front yard and asked Rodriguez to play with him and a pet dog. He was wearing boxers and a sweater. When Rodriguez refused, Mendoza got off his wheelchair and dragged himself into a back yard, where he found an ax.

By then Mendoza had stripped naked. He chained himself to a tree in the back yard and began hacking at his leg with a pickax while yelling incoherently.

"He told me to look into the sun and pray with him. I was kinda scared for a minute," said Rodriguez.

Then Rodriguez jumped on Mendoza and wrestled the ax away.

"As soon as I grabbed the ax he tried to bite me, and I had to hold him down with my knee. There was dry blood around his mouth. I don't know if it was his own, but I'm pretty sure it was his son's now that I hear the story," said Rodriguez.

The police report said Mendoza appeared to be under the influence of PCP. Rodriguez said had he known about little Angelo, the outcome would have been different.

"I would've just let him cut his leg off. What happened to his son is not right. I would've left him alone," said Rodriguez.

Mendoza was arrested on charges of torture, aggravated mayhem, and cruelty to a child. The toddler is now in the custody of Child Protective Services. Mendoza is due in court May 20. His bail is set at $1 million.

[video here]