Police arrest homeless man in Senate office burglary
Officers arrested a homeless man Monday in connection with a weekend burglary at the office of Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, police said.
Gilbert Soto, 48, who lives in a city shelter, allegedly took a television, computer and other items from Dodd's Senate district office early Sunday, police said.
"It does not appear right now that he knew he was breaking into a presidential candidate's office or that there was any political motivation," Hartford Assistant Police Chief Neil Dryfe said.
Officers recovered the stolen television and computer Monday after Soto took them to the spots where he allegedly sold the items, police said.
Soto is, "for lack of a better term, a career criminal," Dryfe said, and appears to have selected the burglary site at random. He faces charges of third-degree burglary, third-degree larceny and criminal mischief.
Dodd has served in the U.S. Senate since 1981 and is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. The office is his district headquarters for Senate work, and is not used for his presidential campaign.
Dodd spokeswoman Justine Sessions said she had no comment on the investigation or arrest. To the best of her knowledge, she said, no personal or confidential information was compromised when the computer was stolen.
Officers were called Sunday afternoon when a property manager found the Lewis Street building's front door unlocked.
Detectives determined that the suspect went into an adjacent parking garage sometime before dawn Sunday, used wood planks to create a makeshift walkway to a second-floor window, and broke into Dodd's office there, Dryfe said.
They also found blood around the window's broken glass, and a security video of the building's interior showed the suspect had a bandaged leg, Dryfe said.
The suspect took the items out through the front door, but police never received a report of the building's alarm system being activated, Dryfe said.
Officers recognized Soto when the spotted him walking nearby shortly after they viewed the security tape, police said. He was taken into custody without incident and was being held Monday on $15,000 bond.
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