Rod and Gun Club vandalized

NORTH CANAAN — What appeared to be senseless acts of vandalism June 1 at the Northwest Connecticut Rod & Gun Club had state police investigators and club members shaking their heads in disbelief. Locks were broken on buildings throughout the complex, items were stolen and a Jeep left on site was hot-wired and taken for a joy-ride.

By late the next day, a team of investigators, including a K-9, had discovered evidence and a scent trail that led to the nearby home of one teenage boy who admitted to his involvement. One other boy also confessed, while a third has denied playing a role. North Canaan Resident State Trooper Jim Promotico said late last week he had applied for warrants to arrest all three. Those arrests were expected to take place sometime this week.

The parents of the 15-year old who claimed innocence spoke with police and club officials, according to Promotico. Their son is currently the defendant in a felony rape case.

Sometime during the early afternoon of Tuesday, June 1, according to detailed, corroborating stories by the two teens who admitted to the vandalism, the two went to the club grounds on foot. Both had stayed home from school that day and had the Sand Road home to themselves.

After engaging in what Promotico described as illegal hunting on club grounds, they entered the unlocked pavilion and found a 12-pack of beer in the kitchen. They took it back to the house, where they drank some or all of it with their lunch.

When the high school let out, they called the third suspect, who allegedly came to the Sand Road house. The three later went to the club and vandalized it.

“They got a little drunk, and a little brave,� Promotico said, in summing up their motives.

Club President Tom Poole was on the grounds Tuesday morning, but left late that morning for an appointment. At about 9:30 p.m., teenager John Haddon, whose family belongs to the club, was riding his ATV  home after fishing in the club pond. He noticed damage in the grassy parking area from a driver doing  “doughnuts.â€� The Haddons called police.

Padlocked doors were found ripped open or hasps cut. In one storage area, numerous items were moved, Poole said, to gain access to a chainsaw, which was used in an attempt to cut through a door on another storage building.

The locked bay door on the garage sheltering the club’s new tractor was breached. There, orange spray paint was found and used to cover five of six new garage doors on the pavilion and a refrigerator with profane and drug-related phrases and pictures.

Before police came back Wednesday afternoon to investigate, Poole and John Haddon (Johnny’s dad) spent the morning trying to figure out exactly what had happened. The dark blue Jeep, recently purchased by a club member and left there because its brakes needed repair, was covered inside and out with what they thought was lime dust. The club’s only entrance, on Route 7 South, had been secured by a locked gate. Two unsecured roads lead off the property but appear too overgrown to allow a vehicle to pass.

The K-9 later found the club’s fire extinguisher in the woods. It was determined it had been used to smash the Jeep’s passenger window. The white dust covering the vehicle was spray from the extinguisher.

The vandals never left the property in the Jeep. The chainsaw was found at the Sand Road home. Police used the serialnumber to confirm it belonged to the club.