By Michael Catarevas

WESTPORT — One comforting aspect, if you can call it that, about the wave of car thefts plaguing Westport and other upscale Fairfield County towns over the past several years is that the thieves usually target unattended vehicles in driveways, avoiding confrontations with the owners.

Usually, but not always.

That was the frightening case Sept. 17, 2023, when a  Bayberry Lane resident was the victim of a carjacking in his own garage, a shocking crime recorded by the owner’s home video surveillance system. 

Thieves apparently began tailing the driver of a blue Aston Martin convertible as he drove to his Bayberry Lane home. They approached the owner as he parked in his garage, assaulted him and dragged him from the car before fleeing — in the Aston Martin as well as a BMW, also stolen, they had used to follow the victim. 

Luckily, the victim was not seriously hurt, declining medical attention.

While the high-profile smash-and-grab jewelry store burglary last May also stunned many Westporters, no one was threatened or injured. This was different. How did Westport police respond?

Police Chief Foti Koskinas, Detective Bureau Commander Lt. Jillian Cabana and Lt. Eric Woods met with Westport Journal to explain in detail how the investigation led to the arrest of the first, second and third suspects.

It was a much different set of circumstances than the jewelry store smash-and-grab. In that one the perpetrators made a clean getaway. In the car hijacking, they did not.

Cabana: “For the officers responding their first order of business was to make sure nobody’s hurt. Does anyone need medical attention? Are any suspects still there? We knew they had left, but we had to make sure that the victims were physically okay,”

The phone call reporting the crime was near hysterical.

Cabana: “It was a very frantic call from the victim’s wife telling us what happened. So [the suspects] take off and we get a description of the vehicle. We also learn through traffic cameras that the Aston Martin is traveling with another vehicle, a black BMW.”

The police chief explained that immediately the force was in motion, with different officers going to different locations. He went to the Fairfield town line on the Post Road.

Koskinas: “We all play an active role. Even as chief I’m just another patrolman at that moment, taking up a post and being part of the solution, not the problem. All of us responding to the house would be counterproductive. So I stayed at the Fairfield town line by the car wash because you can look at two [Interstate 95] exit ramps from one location. If they’re going to head north, you can catch a glimpse of that by People’s Bank. If they’re going to head south, you can catch a glimpse of that, too.”

As luck would have it, the chief saw the vehicles speed by going north on I-95.

Koskinas: “They went by me at a high rate of speed with tinted windows. I followed but never engaged them with lights and sirens, and we made it to the Route 25 connector. I’m in a town police car, an unmarked police car. Now they realize if they’re going 75, 80 and I’m sticking to their tail, it’s most likely the police. 

“We made it to Exit 27A, and I’m calling this out and letting our dispatchers know what we’re doing, what speed we’re traveling at. I was keeping up with them but at times I had to step back because I can’t break the rules the way they’re breaking the law, and public safety continues to be paramount. 

“They knew exactly what they were doing because they went from the left lane at 70 miles an hour across four lanes and exited at exit 7, which I did not. I did not have the capabilities to safely do that, cut across four lanes of traffic the way they did in a completely unsafe manner. So at that point, that’s where I lost them.”

The chief was asked what would have happened if the culprits stopped or crashed. 

Koskinas: “Then it’s go time. I have my gear with me, you know what I’m saying? So at that point, if there is a crash or if they decide to stop, our training and experience kick in to what we need to do. You try to take as many of them in custody as possible, and obviously render aid if there’s an accident.

“At that point as police our minds are rolling. We’re trying to be two or three steps ahead to prevent something from going wrong. I have my gun, but it’s also taken into advantage, like safe tactics. If they do crash, I put myself in a safe location to make sure that the last thing I need to do is use my gun. Every one of our officers knows we need to keep the public safe. If they’re acting recklessly it doesn’t give me a green light to act recklessly. If anything, it tells me to slow things down so they don’t act more recklessly.”

Back at the scene of the crime, officers are busy canvassing neighbors for witnesses and obtaining whatever videos are available.

Woods: “The victim had cameras in the garage. So let’s get the video and watch it. Let’s make sure we can release that. There’s going to be something worthwhile in it to get out to the media for two reasons. One is if anybody knows these people, and two, there’s a shock value. We’ve been saying for months and months to lock your cars and lock your doors, because cars are getting stolen, and now they’re coming into your garage.”

Cabana: “The video was great for us to get out to the media, but we also watch a video as investigators because not only did they take the Aston Martin, but they tried to take the second car in the garage and we could see they weren’t gloved. They put their hands in certain places. So our detective came in and fingerprinted. We lifted fingerprints from the vehicle and we’re photographing injuries and we’re seizing the victim’s clothing for DNA testing later because they were all scuffling with him. DNA is to the point where if you just touch something now it’s enough to get a profile. You don’t have to spit or bleed on anybody.

“So we lift prints. There’s one lab for the entire state. When we send a normal everyday burglary or something to the state lab, it could take a month, two months, three months to get results back. But there are other certified fingerprint examiners in the state that we’ve built relationships with, including in West Haven. Meanwhile, we had a black BMW stolen in Westport the day before. It matches the make and model of the one traveling with the Aston Martin, and the chief gave a last point of where he saw them. Then through traffic cameras and license plate readers we’re able to track that vehicle and the other vehicle in a certain direction through the state. So we know they’re in the Berlin, Connecticut, area.”

Superior police work is often aided by the public, as was the case with this crime.

Cabana: “The very next morning we get an anonymous tip from a woman who says her son saw that Aston Martin on the news last night and saw it pull into this address, which she provided. Her son said the driver had a ski mask on, which he felt was weird. It’s an Aston Martin, which you look at twice when they go by. It draws attention to begin with.”

The tips proved invaluable. Descriptions of the house were verified on Google Earth. Officers drive to Berlin, meet up with officers from that town, go to the house and see two BMWs in the driveway. The license plates don’t match the cars. So they get a search warrant for the house and property.

Cabana: “Lo and behold, they find the Aston Martin and the BMW that were stolen from Westport the day before. They make an arrest of the man who was living in the house, who clearly was running some kind of chop shop there. And then we get a tip from Waterbury that this one kid, Giovanni Lopez, might be one of our suspects.”

Why? Because when the BMW was stolen in Westport, the owner’s credit cards were taken as well. 

Cabana: “So while detectives are dealing with the search warrant up in Berlin, other detectives are now going to where this man’s credit cards were used and tracking the user through Dick’s and another store.”

Woods: “Those stores have surveillance cameras. So we’re pulling that video and looking at it, and we’re getting the receipts and seeing what they buy. Then we’re showing it all to Waterbury police. And Waterbury says, oh, that’s Giovanni Lopez. We know him. That’s who that is.”

Cabana: “So then we set up a surveillance on his house and we see him and some friends coming out wearing the clothes that match the description on the receipts. One’s a bright yellow sweatshirt, so it’s kind of hard to miss. Then we got a search warrant on his house and begin seizing evidence.”

Lopez was placed under arrest. He was 16 years old at the time, but because of the incident’s seriousness, he was charged as an adult.

Cabana: “He happened to have a gun on his nightstand. These kids are out there actively carrying guns. Not the first time we’ve run into that. And so we do our technical investigations on him. Meanwhile, fingerprints [on the other car in the Westport garage] belong to Lopez. So we would’ve had him. But our relationships with Waterbury and other towns sped that up.”

The police also seized his cellphone.

Cabana: “So then we do our technical stuff again. And now we’re seeing pictures of stolen cars on this kid’s phone. And they have a video of them in the Aston Martin driving down the highway. He’s filming his buddy driving the car. So we have that. And then they’re posing with other cars. A lot of it’s a game to them. Who can get the best car? Who can get the nicest car? They joy ride in it and live it up.”

The video would provide the evidence to arrest Garrett Gibbs, who with Lopez committed the crime in the Bayberry Lane garage. 

Apprehending the driver of the BMW was next.

Cabana: “So we developed Vincys Baez as one of the other suspects. Now we do a search warrant on his house and we see stuff that connects him to the crime. Every time we get a new suspect, it’s like a new can of worms and new search warrant. Now we have to test this evidence. We have his cell phone; now it’s a search warrant for that. And it spirals into this huge, huge amount of work.”

What sentences the Westport trio of thieves would face is another story. The police chief reflected that he was gratified the car hijacking, as well as the jewelry store smash-and-grab case, were solved quickly, with multiple arrests made. He pointed out that failing was not an option.

Koskinas: “We’re a 70 men and women department, and the reality is we have every resource that the big cities have. We’re well-funded, well-educated and well-trained. While we handle a ton of different things throughout the day, when incidents like this happen everything else gets put on the back burner and they becomes the priority because we don’t want them repeated.

“As people and businesses come into town, they’re Googling, they’re searching. We want people to feel confident that if they’re going to move or open a business here that it’s not a high-crime area. Or if a crime happens, there’s police working to solve it. Westporters say it’s a great community and they have the best schools, and we’re a huge part of that. If we weren’t doing what we’re doing, people wouldn’t be moving here, and the real estate would not be at the value that it’s at. We’re not here to pat ourselves on the back. You can have the greatest schools, but if you don’t have a high crime solvability rate then eventually people are not going to want to be here. 

“My expectations after a crime is committed are that there’s no way we’re not going to catch them. That’s a high threshold, and it’s all hands on deck. Everybody’s working, researching and reaching out to their informants and to the state attorneys. But we can’t be good at something if we don’t practice and we’re not prepared. And working in this community with the expectations of what the community has of us, we need to produce. There’s no room for excuses.”

Michael Catarevas is a freelance writer.