Four men arrested in Old Saybrook after dealership tips off police on possible fraudulent transaction

A car dealership in Old Saybrook notified police about a suspected fraudulent transaction Friday afternoon, leading to the arrest of four men and seizure of a loaded handgun, narcotics and identity theft documents allegedly found in their vehicles.

The Old Saybrook Police Department arrested Justin Smith, 35, of Hartford, Peter Roman, 45, of Brooklyn, New York, Omar Pena, 40, of Kent, and Ross Glasmann, 25, of West Hartford shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after the department received an alert from senior leadership at Shoreline Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep.

According to police, an initial investigation found that the men used fraudulent government documents to pose as customers of the dealership. The documents were generated by stealing the identity of out-of-state residents, police said.

“The bogus customers left a cash deposit at the dealership and promised to return. When they did, Old Saybrook police were waiting,” a release from the department states.

The men went back to the dealership in two different vehicles at separate times, according to police. At 6:07 p.m., when all parties returned, Old Saybrook police located, detained and arrested the four men.

According to the department, officers searched the two vehicles and found a loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine, narcotics including methamphetamine, crack cocaine and ecstasy. The police also said they located documents that linked the four men to identity theft.

“When we noticed something was off, we immediately contacted the Old Saybrook police,” said Kobe Tremblay, one of the dealership’s owners. “The only thing that comes above our dedication to our customers is the safety of the community we are proud to be part of.”

“We take our role to safeguard our customer’s information very seriously,” Alex Castergini Jr., another owner, added. “We are here to be a part of the community, which means we have a responsibility to help safeguard it.”

According to a release from the Old Saybrook police department, the incident prompted Tremblay and Castergini to sponsor a law-enforcement-led identity theft and fraud prevention seminar in early 2023.

“This is a perfect example of a public/private partnership that helps safeguard our community,” Chief of Police for the Town of Old Saybrook Michael Spera said. “We will not tolerate this type of criminal activity in Old Saybrook.”

All four suspects are scheduled to appear in Middlesex Superior Court on Jan. 10.

Roman, who allegedly attempted to flee law enforcement, is held on a $550,000 bond on charges of interfering, fugitive from justice, felony possession of ammunition, two counts of possession of narcotics, two counts of possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance, two counts of conspiracy, first-degree larceny, first-degree forgery, three counts of identity theft, illegal use of a credit card, three counts of credit card theft, fourth-degree larceny and five counts of second-degree forgery.

Pena is held on a $250,000 bond with charges of criminal impersonation, second-degree forgery, interfering, first-degree criminal attempt to commit larceny, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of possession of narcotics, two counts of possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of ammunition, possession of a high-capacity magazine and weapons in a motor vehicle.

Glasmann is held on a $125,000 bond on charges of first-degree larceny, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of possession of narcotics, two counts of possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a high-capacity magazine and weapons in a motor vehicle.

According to police, Smith is held on $250,000 bond on charges of first-degree larceny, first-degree forgery, identity theft, illegal use of a credit card, credit card theft, fourth-degree larceny, two counts of possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, conspiracy, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of ammunition, possession of a high-capacity magazine and weapons in a motor vehicle.

According to Connecticut Judicial Branch documents, a man with the same name and age as Smith was sentenced on Nov. 17 to six months in jail with the execution suspended after pleading guilty to first-degree criminal trespass for the offense that occurred in March of 2017.

Another man of the same age identified in court records as Justin Adam Smith was convicted in August on a guilty plea to fourth-degree larceny, third-degree forgery, and second-degree failure to appear for offenses from September 2015. Justin Adam Smith was also convicted on Nov. 2 on a guilty plea to the use of drug paraphernalia on June third. On all four convictions, the execution of the jail sentence was suspended.

No criminal conviction history in Connecticut was found for Roman, Pena and Glasmann.

Alison Cross can be reached at across@courant.com.