Springfield man faces 3 years for East Windsor carjackings
Sep. 27—A Springfield man is facing a likely three-year sentence in an incident in which he shoplifted from the Walmart in East Windsor, crashed his mother's car while fleeing, then tried to carjack a woman outside a restaurant across the street and succeeded in a second carjacking.
PLEAS
DEFENDANT: Adriel Calderon, 32, of Springfield
GUILTY PLEAS: Second-degree robbery, third-degree robbery, third-degree assault on an elderly victim, evading responsibility
AGREED SENTENCE: 13 years, suspended after three years in prison, followed by five years of probation
Adriel Calderon, 32, pled guilty to felony counts of second-degree robbery and third-degree robbery in the incident, which happened on June 26, 2020, Hartford Superior Court records show. He also pled guilty to misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault on an elderly person and evading responsibility.
Calderon pulled a woman in her 70s from the second car, causing her pain in her arm, neck, and lower back, according to an affidavit by East Windsor police Detective Scott M. Roberts.
The two sides in the case have agreed on a three-year sentence, then five years of probation, with the possibility of up to 10 more years behind bars if Calderon violates conditions, said public defender John L. Stawicki, who represents Calderon.
Court records show that Judge David P. Gold scheduled the sentencing for Oct. 11 to give time for submission of victim impact statements, raising the possibility that he might reconsider the sentence.
Roberts' arrest warrant affidavit details the following:
Surveillance video at the Walmart Superstore on Prospect Hill Road showed a man entering without a bag, then leaving through the pet section with a black bag or backpack. Video showed that the suspect crashed the car while trying to leave the parking lot, then grabbed the black bag from the car and ran toward Prospect Hill Road.
Soon afterward, there were reports of a vehicle theft outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell restaurant across the street.
A woman sitting in the passenger's seat of a sport utility vehicle in the restaurant parking lot while her husband was inside told police a man opened the driver's door and told her, "Get out of the car." When she refused, he said, "Get out of the car before I pull my gun."
The suspect then started the vehicle and put it in reverse, but she put it back in park, honked the horn, and yelled at the suspect as she pulled the keys from the ignition and threw them out the window.
The suspect got out and picked up the keys, got back in, restarted the SUV, and crashed it into another vehicle while backing out. He put the vehicle in drive and began to leave the lot, but the woman threw it into park again. The suspect got out and ran toward the restaurant.
Surveillance video shows that the man then ran to a car occupied by a woman over age 70, pulled her out, and drove away in the car. A bystander followed the car to Interstate 91 northbound.
Registration information on the car abandoned in the Walmart lot led police to Calderon's mother, who told Springfield officers that her son had the vehicle.
Springfield police also promptly found the car stolen in the restaurant parking lot and detained a person matching the suspect's description. But when the elderly carjacking victim was brought to Springfield, she was only 60% certain the suspect was the carjacker.
Still, Springfield police arrested Calderon on charges relating to conduct in their city.
East Windsor police got additional evidence tying Calderon to the crimes in their town from a Springfield video game store where he had sold items stolen from Walmart. They arrested Calderon on April 12, 2021, and he has been in jail since then, unable to post $150,000 bond.
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