Burglary investigation leads to arrests

NORTH CANAAN — On May 16, Trooper Greg Naylor was dispatched to a residence on Norfolk Road (Route 44) in East Canaan on a report of a burglary. The residents said a chain saw, a leaf blower and a string trimmer had been stolen from their garage, which is normally unlocked.

The couple said the only person of suspicious origin who knew the items were in their garage was Curtis Lee Benson, 36, of North Canaan. They explained that in the past year, Benson had bought a pickup truck from them, been hired to do yard work that he never completed and borrowed money that he had not returned.

Trooper Naylor was familiar with Benson and knew he was on parole after serving time for a burglary in Massachusetts that shared a similar method of operation to the one in East Canaan.

That same day, Trooper Naylor went to Benson’s last known address, his mother’s house in North Canaan. Mrs. Benson said she had not seen her son in over a month. She informed Trooper Naylor that her son was dating Whitney S. Moody, 29, of North Canaan, and that Moody drove a white Toyota.

Trooper Naylor then went to Moody’s last known address. No one answered the door, so he left a message asking someone to contact him.

At about 12:30 p.m., Trooper Naylor received a phone call from Moody’s mother, who confirmed that her daughter was dating Benson. She said she did not want Benson around the house, but would not elaborate as to why. She also confirmed that Moody drove a white 1994 Toyota Corolla.

Moody’s mother agreed to forward Trooper Naylor’s contact information to her daughter’s cell phone and ask her to contact him as soon as possible.

On May 17, Trooper Naylor received a message from Troop L seeking Moody’s whereabout with regard to the theft of cash from a farm stand in Harwinton. Shortly thereafter, he received a message about a white Toyota parked on the rural and isolated Beckley Road in Norfolk. The caller was concerned about the safety and welfare of the two occupants, who appeared to be sleeping. 

On May 18, two troopers from Troop L, checking the Beckley Road area, located the Toyota and identified the occupants as Benson and Moody, who agreed to discuss the farm stand incident. One of the troopers contacted Trooper Naylor.

Upon arriving at the scene, Trooper Naylor spoke with Benson. Without Trooper Naylor mentioning their names, Benson identified the North Canaan couple as people he had bought a pickup truck from. He admitted to leaving the work he had been paid for unfinished and to borrowing money without returning it, but denied stealing the power equipment.

Trooper Naylor told Benson he was in possession of the chain saw. Benson’s physical demeanor slumped, and he admitted to taking the chain saw, but denied taking the leaf blower and the string trimmer. He gave Trooper Naylor the name and address of the person he had sold the chain saw to, and said the person did not know it had been stolen.

During a phone conversation with Trooper Naylor, the buyer said he had bought the chain saw from Moody, not Benson, and he agreed to turn it over to state troopers. The serial number of the chain saw matched that of the one stolen from the East Canaan garage. 

On June 8, Trooper naylor submitted applications for arrest warrants for Benson and for Moody.

On July 6, Benson and Moody were arrested and charged with sixth-degree larceny: theft from a building. In addition, Benson was charged with third-degree burglary. They were held on $1,000 surety bond (Benson) and $500 non-surety bond (Moody) and given a court date of July 17.

 — Bruce T. Paddock