Security officer stabbed with syringe during shoplifting incident
DANBURY CT March 2 2018 — A security guard who confronted a shoplifting suspect at a Newtown supermarket was apparently stabbed with a syringe by the suspect’s companion, authorities said.
Allison Napolitano, of West Hartford, is accused of stealing several cases of Red Bull from the Big Y supermarket on Queen Street. Officials said her accomplice, Mitchell Carroll, of Ridgefield, attacked the guard who confronted her with a syringe.
Both suspects have prior arrests.
During an arraignment Wednesday, where the two faced charges of third-degree assault and sixth-degree larceny, Judge Dan Shaban denied a public defender’s request to free Napolitano and Carroll in exchange for written promises to appear in court. Shaban set the bond at $5,000 for each defendant.
The public defender said Carroll thought the guard was going to hurt Napolitano.
“Carroll may not have been aware of what the co-defendant was doing and thought she was being attacked,” he said.
The public defender also argued that freeing Napolitano would allow her to continue necessary drug treatment.
“She clearly has a substance abuse issue and was in treatment,” he said.
But Shaban said he was concerned that Carroll appeared to have stabbed the guard with a syringe “that was used for who knows what drug use.” He also noted that Napolitano has three pending larceny cases against her, the most recent from Feb. 22.
Police said Napolitano was a suspect in other thefts at the Big Y earlier this month.
At the Big Y on Tuesday night, police said, Napolitano hid several cases of Red Bull energy drink in her purse. When a security officer approached, Carroll pushed the officer from behind. Police said the officer suffered several injuries, including abrasions to his wrist and a wound caused by a syringe.
The two suspects ran out of the store and drove away, but state police later found them in Waterbury. Several syringes and other paraphernalia consistent with heroin use were found in the car, police said.
The bail commissioner said Napolitano has been living in West Hartford for a week, and that she previously lived in the Redding area.
Carroll is a convicted felon who is out on probation and also has a pending parole violation. His seven-year sentence for a larceny charge was suspended after 30 months in prison.
