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Deli Robbery, Cop Death, Lifeguard Arrest Top The Week's News In Ridgefield

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — It was a busy week in Fairfield County, with the arrest of a lifeguard in a near-drowning in Stamford, a serious house fire in Fairfield, a deli robbery in Stratford, and the death of a Danbury police sergeant by suicide.      

Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson

Photo Credit: Stratford Police Department
Josue Rivera-Suarez

Josue Rivera-Suarez

Photo Credit: Stratford Police Department
Police officers line up on Main Street outside St. Peter's Church for the funeral Mass for Danbury Police Sgt. Drew Carlson.

Police officers line up on Main Street outside St. Peter's Church for the funeral Mass for Danbury Police Sgt. Drew Carlson.

Photo Credit: Karen Tensa
Zachary Stein

Zachary Stein

Photo Credit: Stamford Police Department
Flames are leaping from the back of the house at 480 Old Post Road in Fairfield as firefighters arrive.

Flames are leaping from the back of the house at 480 Old Post Road in Fairfield as firefighters arrive.

Photo Credit: Fairfield Fire Department
The Danbury Fire Department had to free the driver from this rollover crash Thursday morning on Ball Pond Road.

The Danbury Fire Department had to free the driver from this rollover crash Thursday morning on Ball Pond Road.

Photo Credit: Danbury Fire Department
Nichelle Smith

Nichelle Smith

Photo Credit: Shelton Police Department
Pippa poses between the legs of a WASA volunteer who helped rescue her from a cruel situation.

Pippa poses between the legs of a WASA volunteer who helped rescue her from a cruel situation.

Photo Credit: Westport Animal Control
Sisters Caitlin Giambalvo, left, and Bridget McBride have opened a new The Bar Method in Westport.

Sisters Caitlin Giambalvo, left, and Bridget McBride have opened a new The Bar Method in Westport.

Photo Credit: Meredith Guinness
Todd "TJ" Lobraico in Afghanistan in 2013, shortly before he was killed in a firefight with insurgents.

Todd "TJ" Lobraico in Afghanistan in 2013, shortly before he was killed in a firefight with insurgents.

Photo Credit: Matthew Zuniga

ICYMI: Here are the top stories of the past week, from the Daily Voice:

Two men from Bridgeport — Paul Thompson, 21, and Josue Rivera-Suarez, 26 — were tracked down and arrested after a late-night burglary at the Pickel Barrel Deli in Stratford, police said.

Danbury Police Sgt. Drew Carlson committed suicide after barricading himself in a Southbury hotel. The 38-year-old New Fairfield resident was a13-year veteran of the Danbury force. Over 100 officers from neighboring towns took part in his funeral as an honor guard.

Mark R. Nemec, the new president of Fairfield University, and his family are safe after a fire badly damaged the historic home they are renting on the Old Post Road. One of his children jumped from a second-floor window to escape the fire. 

Zachary Stein, a 23-year-old lifeguard from New Canaan, was arrested in connection with the near-drowning of a 5-year-old boy at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, police said. He was charged with first-degree risk of injury to a child and reckless endangerment.

Danbury firefighters removed the windshield to free an injured driver trapped in a car after a rollover crash on Ball Pond Road.

Shelton police arrested Nichelle Smith, 41, of Naugatuck, a substitute teacher, when she was warned to stay off school properties but was spotted again at the Board of Education offices, police said. She was charged with third-degree criminal trespass.

Pippa, a young maltese-terrier mix, is looking for a permanent home through Westport Animal Control after making a recovery from a cruelty case. A volunteer from Westport Animal Shelter Advocates saw her being dragged by a rope down Post Road. Pippa was kept safe at animal control while the legal issues from her cruelty case were resolved. Now Pippa has a chance for a happy life in a forever home.

When she was in her 20s, a friend told avid runner Bridget McBride to try a barre fitness class to improve her marathon times. Instead, McBride found a new career. She and her sister, Caitlin Giambalvo, both of Fairfield, opened the doors on The Bar Method, their second fitness studio in Westport.

It's been four years since a 22-year-old man with roots in New Fairfield and Sherman made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Todd “TJ” Lobraico was killed in action on Sept. 5, 2013, when his unit was ambushed by insurgents in Afghanistan. "Please take a moment today to remember TJ and the sacrifice he made on 5 September 2013. He is forever on our minds and always in our hearts," said a post on the Facebook page for the T.J. Lobraico Foundation.

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