Shortly after 3:00 am on August 19, 2015 an officer on patrol on Hollow Tree Ridge Rd near Patton Dr. observed a vehicle parked blocking the entire travel portion of the road on Patton Dr. Upon further inspection it was determined that an unknown individual was attempting to steal the vehicle, a 2012 Ford F-150 pick-up, from a nearby driveway. As the officer drove by, the suspect fled the scene leaving the vehicle in the roadway. A search of the area revealed that eight (8) unlocked vehicles on Patton Drive and on Charles St. had been burglarized. This was the second time in six (6) days that vehicles had been burglarized on Patton Dr. During the past two (2) weeks, this agency has investigated over twenty (20) burglaries of unlocked cars in Darien. During a similar time frame, there have also been several cars stolen from the area that were unlocked and had the keys inside.
As officers continued to check the area for suspects, a white male later identified as Joel Mackinnon age 48, of 597 Pacific St. Stamford, was located on the westbound Noroton Heights Train Station platform. Mackinnon told officers that he currently resided at the homeless shelter in Stamford. Officers then learned that Mackinnon had active warrants for his arrest out of Stamford for failing to appear in court. He was subsequently placed under arrest and taken into custody. At this point officers recovered items that Mackinnon was in possession of that were possibly proceeds from the car burglaries that had just taken place. A short time later it was confirmed that the items did in fact belong to the car burglary victims.
- Larceny 1st Degree
- Burglary 3rd Degree (8 counts)
- Larceny 6th Degree (3 counts)
- Failure To Appear 2nd Degree (2 counts)
He currently remains in the custody of the Darien Police Department and is being held on a $28,500.00 bond. He will be arraigned in Stamford Superior Court on Thursday, August 20, 2015. This investigation remains active and investigators are obviously exploring possible connections to past incidents.