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Gary Harding was arrested on Monday when he showed up at a
state office in New Haven for what he thought was to be a
meeting with his probation officer.
"Thank God people aren't always very bright, it really does make
our job a lot easier," said New Haven Police spokesman David
Hartman. "Not only to make the apprehension, but then to also
have the main piece of evidence delivered right to us ... that
was icing on the cake."
That main piece of evidence was an SUV stolen from a Stamford
woman at a grocery store on Sept. 13 by a man who claimed to
have a gun. A review of surveillance footage suggested to police
that Harding, who was known to probation officials for past drug
and robbery convictions, was the culprit.
Police in the nearby town of Wallingford are also investigating
whether the vehicle was used by Harding two days later in a bank
robbery, said Wallingford Police Detective Sean Houlihan.
The video evidence prompted police to set up the phony probation
meeting with Harding.
Harding, who was being held on charges of first-degree robbery
and robbery by carjacking, could not be reached for comment. It
was unclear if he had hired an attorney.
(Reporting by Richard Weizel; Editing by Scott Malone and Eric
Beech)
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