Crime & Safety

Officer Chases Oxford Teens Who Shot His Home With Pellet Gun

Teens are quickly caught and arrested; nobody injured.

A group of teenagers messed with the wrong guy on Wednesday night.

Four local teens shot BBs with an Airsoft Rifle at a home on Captain Wooster Road, until they were chased down by a Bridgeport police officer whose house they had shot, police said.

“They definitely picked the wrong house,” said Oxford Resident Trooper Sgt. Dan Semosky, who believes the teens picked the house at random; he said that was the only complaint received of BB-gun shootings that night or recently.

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The 43-year-old off-duty police officer called police around 7 p.m. Wednesday saying the vandals had shot several rounds of BBs into his house and car while he was in the driveway with his children, police said. The man quickly brought his children inside, got into his car and chased the teens, who were trying to flee in a motor vehicle, police said.

The officer pulled the car over near MacIntosh Drive, an upscale neighborhood off Hogs Back Road and about 1.5 miles from Captain Wooster Road, according to a police report. Nobody was injured and it was unclear the extent of the damage that was caused to the man’s home.

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Members of the Oxford Resident Troopers Office found an air rifle and a small amount of marijuana in the car.

An airsoft gun or rifle is a replica weapon that propels plastic pellets, or BBs, by way of compressed gas or a spring-driven piston, according to Wikipedia. Semosky said the guns look like real rifles, making the situation that much more dangerous. 

The teens were charged with the following, according to a police report of the incident:

  • Andrew Villano, 19, charges with possession of drug paraphernalia, weapons in a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana.
  • Robert Griffin, 18, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and weapons in a motor vehicle.
  • John Knepple, 18, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
  • An unnamed 17-year-old male, whose name was not released because of his age, was charged with weapons in a motor vehicle, brandishing of facsimile firearms, fourth-degree criminal mischief, breach of peace and second-degree reckless endangerment.

They are scheduled to be arraigned at Derby Superior Court on Aug. 8.


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