New Canaan police on Friday arrested a juvenile male by warrant in connection with the theft of a vehicle in town last September, officials said.
Investigators were able to lift fingerprints from the rearview mirror of the car, which had been stolen in September from an Old Stamford Road driveway, according to a press bulletin issued by Lt. Jason Ferraro, the department’s public information officer.
Based on that evidence, police obtained a warrant to arrest a Stamford juvenile and charge him with second-degree larceny—a Class C felony offense.
The keys had been left in the car overnight and doors left unlocked, Ferraro said. Police received notification of the theft at about 8:08 a.m. on Sept. 19.
Two days later, Stamford police notified New Canaan that the vehicle had been located in that city, Ferraro said.
Police served the warrant on March 17, he said.
“This was a successful end to an all too common crime that is plaguing Fairfield County,” Ferraro said. “Please protect yourself and your property, don’t leave your vehicle unlocked, don’t leave your keys in the vehicle and remove all valuables from your vehicle.”
The arrest comes as New Canaan police report a year-over-year decline in the early part of 2017 in thefts of motor vehicles as well as thefts from cars—a change that officials have attributed, in part, to residents locking up their vehicles.