It is Wednesday July 11, 2012, 4PM and finally Office Hogan returned my numerous calls. He says, depending on what he has to do, he will meet me to take a statement tomorrow at 7PM. Here is what I will say in my statement tomorrow:
Lisa Meneguzzo (the cop killer’s girlfriend) had bought the printer from us for $25 in November of 2011. She has a very old system that requires a parallel port. Her program will not run a Windows printer. She does not understand this, but we helped her and got it to work for many months. She brought the printer back to us for a repair on June 28. Our rates are posted, she has paid them before and we honestly did not think she would have trouble paying for our work.
But she did. She said it was ridiculous to spend so much when she can buy another printer much cheaper. I told her it would not work, but she bought one anyway, and called to ask me why it didn’t work. I explained, again, why. So then she wanted to pick up her printer, but by this time I did not want to ever work for her again, and told her so. So then she shows up at the door.
In 2002 I had beat her in Small Claims Court on a stop-payment of a check. She assured me she would not stop payment on the check (but of course she did). She is scary, she argued every point, did not want to pay sales tax, wanted a warranty, wanted me to fix the printer later. I just wanted her out of my store so that I could go to my birthday party in New Milford. But I didn’t lie to her. I told her she was no longer a customer, that no law will force me to work on her printer, that she is trespassing and has to leave.
My mistake was hitting 911 on the telephone. It never rang, never showed any sign of finishing the call, but apparently 911 is something special because the police did show up after I left. I had placed her printer outside the shop, and she came out screaming “I don’t want you near my BMW”, and I raced back inside. She tried to push her way in, but I was able to lock her out. Then I left. She said “the police are on their way”. I said “good”.
I was in Bantam when a police dispatcher called my hands-free cell phone and told me my store was “wide open”. I didn’t believe him, called the telephone number back to affirm it was the police. Then I called my girlfriend and asked her to look at the surveillance of my shop:
She said, no, there was no one there. So using my hands – free cellular bluetooth device I called the dispatcher and he said they were there. I did not believe it. In a few minutes a police officer called my cell phone from my shop phone, and my girlfriend called to say police were on my surveillance cam.
I turned around and returned to Torrington. There were two police cars and a van, and two officers met me. They showed me that I had forgotten to shut the garage door. They had entered through the garage door, basement, up the stairs and entered my shop. They said it was “wide open”. Nevertheless they said I had “restrained” the cop killer’s girlfriend by locking the front door. The police said this girl said I told her I was locking her inside, then came back, and she still refused to leave. I said that is not true. That is when I put her printer outside.
The police told me that if I locked her inside that was a crime. They wanted to see my surveillance “tape”. They believed it would be easy, but I knew it would take hours to save the surveillance to put it in a form that is useful. My software only save x number of still pictures per second when it detects motion, and one every ten seconds or so when it does not detect motion. Not really sure about the details, only that it would have to be converted to show the Police.
I figured the fastest way to my birthday party was to have them arrest me. They seemed to have their mind made up anyway. And I didn’t believe they could tell from the tape whether or not the door was locked, even though I don’t believe locking the door is illegal. But if it was, well, they said they would have had to arrest me anyway. A judge or jury will be much easier to convince that I acted reasonably than police who seem to believe “restraint” is the same thing as locking a door.
I was at the party while it was still light out with a lively story to tell. I had all the food in my car, so I was the hit of the party, and everything went very well.
Here is a link to the surveillance video on youtube:
It shows me closing the shop and putting the food and things into my car for the party. Then she enters, I continue to work, but she refuses to leave disrupting my attempts to close my shop, to close my business. I tell her she is tresspassing, she has to leave. Finally I give her the printer, but she refuses to leave, I try to leave, show her the back door so she can leave later. Thought better of it, dial 911, but then think better of it and take her printer outside. She goes out and tries to force her way back in.
The police took too much money from me for bond, Officer Hogan miscounted the money. An officer called to try to return the money to me. Another officer gave me the money at court. The Waterbury Republican American called to try to get a statement from me, but decides not to print anything I said. They quote only the police. The Torrington Register Citizen gets quotes from the cop-killer’s girlfriend, but does not bother to call me. When I get to court I am the last one in line so I ask a thin, grey haired, well-groomed man who says he never heard of me. Wait. Here it is. Then he reads the folder and says “I recommend you get a lawyer” and writes “8/8/2012” on a post-it note. He says they have to talk to the “victim”. I ask if they will mail me anything and he said “that’s all you get”. I say what time should I come? He says my lawyer will know, or 8:30 AM.
I was in court for another thing and I think the Judge called the man “Mr. Knight”, but I am not sure.
So I called Officer Hogan several times for several days after court, leaving him messages, and he got back to me a few minutes ago. He said I had left a statement. I said I did not. He said I was uncooperative, and I said no I was in a hurry, that being arrested seemed to me the fastest way to the party. Now I would like to give a statement that Lisa Menegguzo disrupted business, trespassed, created a nuisance, interfered with business expectancy, created a public disturbance, larceny and loitering.
More soon.
