From public safety spokesman Av Harris:
Bridgeport Police today revealed that a major cache of guns and illicit drugs were seized in an action of the city’s new Violent Crime Reduction Task Force over the weekend. One Bridgeport man was arrested during the police action on Saturday January 30, 2016 and charged with several felony counts. The Bridgeport Police Tactical Narcotics Team executed a Search and Seizure Warrant at 30 Aldine Avenue, in Bridgeport. There, Officers discovered an elaborate marijuana cultivation center located in the basement of the residence, which was comprised of indoor grow tents equipped with high intensity grow lamps, agricultural supplies and a mechanical irrigation/ exhaust system.
There were a total of:
· 85 marijuana plants, which were found to be separated by maturity
· An additional 500 plus grams of harvested marijuana
· 23 bottles of anabolic steroids
· 250 tablets of human grown hormone
· 34 tablets of ZanaxThe subject of the investigation, identified as Jack E. Kelhoffer (DOB 06/02/1985) was home at the time of the search warrant execution. Mr. Kelhoffer failed to answer the door after repeated announcements were made. When officers breached the door he was found standing in the hallway between the living room and kitchen area. On the table behind him was a loaded Glock semi automatic handgun. Mr. Kelhoffer was taken into custody without incident. Two safes were located in the basement in the basement area holding 21 assorted hand guns and rifles and thousands of rounds assorted ammunition.
When Mr. Kelhoffer failed to provided investigators with the combination to one of the safes, the Bridgeport Fire Department (Engine 5) was summoned to the scene to force it open with hydraulic sheers. TNT Officers secured the residence and transported all the evidence to 108 River Street for processing. Mr. Kelhoffer was transported to 300 Congress Street, where he was charged with 21a-264a Cultivation of Marijuana, 21a-278(b) Possession of Marijuana over 4 ounces, 21a-277(b) Possession of Marijuana WITS, 21a-257 Failure to Keep Narcotics in Original Container and Possession of a Controlled Substance With Intent to Sell.
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, would you like to be my neighbor?
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A friend with weed is better.
*** Good Work! ***
Just saw the report on channel 12, Ganim held a news conference, interesting, no sign of Gaudett at all.
No Gaudett but plenty of AJ Perez and Bridgeport Police Union head, Chuck Paris. Most appropriate.
Big deal, they are making a huge point about the guns but none of the charges are gun-related, which means the suspect was a legal gun owner. Of course he will now lose his permit if convicted of a felony but don’t claim you got lots of guns off the street when they were never on the street to begin with.
Written by CT POST REPORTER but I copied and pasted from the POLICE UNION WEBSITE. SHOWS THE RANK-AND-FILE THE UNION IS IN CHARGE.
By Brian Lockhart, CT POST
Updated 12:38 am, Saturday, January 9, 2016
BRIDGEPORT — The mayor has reorganized some of the city’s top cops, eliminating the controversial second in command, and further sidelining Police Chief Joseph Gaudett.
Assistant Police Chief James Nardozzi was the main casualty of Friday’s order from returned Mayor Joe Ganim: The mayor eliminated Nardozzi’s $123,420 position.
Hired three years ago by then-Mayor Bill Finch, Nardozzi’s initial mission was to rein in police overtime. He did a good job at first, but has been hampered by a drastic loss in manpower.
Nardozzi garnered a no-nonsense reputation that earned the ire of some in the department, including the union leadership, which endorsed Ganim’s comeback despite the fact his prior administration ended with a corruption conviction in 2003.
“Those duties currently performed by the assistant chief will revert back to the chief of police,” Ganim’s order said.
But Gaudett is unlikely to view that as a sign of Ganim’s faith in his abilities. The order further consolidates other police powers in Ganim’s office, with police Capt. A.J. Perez, a Ganim ally, in a seeming effort to force Gaudett out.
Gaudett is a holdover from the Finch administration. The chief’s contract was set to expire last month, a few weeks after Ganim was sworn in Dec. 1. While overall crime is down, Ganim leveraged spikes in homicides and nonfatal shootings to help defeat Finch in September’s Democratic primary.
During his last days in office, Finch extended Gaudett’s contract for five more years. Ganim could try to buy him out, but the mayor has been complaining about an inherited $20 million budget deficit.
So instead, Ganim has been sidelining Gaudett. The mayor brought in his former police chief, Wilbur Chapman, as a paid public safety adviser.
And Ganim has given more responsibilities to Perez, a longtime friend who is in charge of the detective bureau.
Ganim recently named Perez head of a crime reduction task force.
Friday’s memo states, “The commanding officer of the crime reduction task force will have overall authority for strategic appointment and overtime allocation.”
It begs the question, what is left for Gaudett to do?
At the time the memo was going public, Perez and some other law enforcement officials–without Gaudett and Nardozzi–were at Bridgeport’s emergency operations center showing off a newly purchased driving simulator.
Asked if Ganim’s memo essentially put him in the driver’s seat of the police department, Perez said, “He’s (Gaudett) the chief of police. If I was in his shoes, I’d expect to have the respect of the rank and file.”
Police Sgt. Chuck Paris, the union’s president, was also on hand.
Asked if Ganim’s memo made Perez the de facto chief, Paris said, “I think it puts additional responsibilities on his plate he can handle, without a doubt. He’s going to help make some major decisions in the department, which we endorse.”
Neither Gaudett nor Nardozzi could immediately be reached for comment. Sources have said Gaudett has hired an attorney to protect his interests as the situation continues to evolve.
Friday’s changes further show the influence the police union has on this new administration, given its strong support of Ganim during the campaign.
The decision to ax Nardozzi was made just days after Chapman expressed confidence in the assistant chief and said he had been returned to the overtime beat to help the administration reduce the $20 million deficit.
“He’s a very intelligent guy,” Chapman said of Nardozzi. “He’s energetic, focused and a tremendous asset for accomplishing what city government wants.”
But Paris said Nardozzi, “came from a different department than Bridgeport.”
The bulk of Nardozzi’s career, thus far, was spent in Waterbury.
“He came in under the Finch administration with some strong messages, not taken very well,” Paris said.
Well spoken, Joe. Yeah, right. AJ Perez, stand up.
And why was the Police Union’s Chuck Paris there?
Going on the assumption this person has a valid permit, he has a right to possess firearms with no restriction as to how many. Aside from the Glock on his table, the rest of them were stored in a locked safe. The police obtained a warrant and had the safe opened and confiscated them. I don’t understand why the city administration is viewing this as a major gun bust, unless he was illegally selling them. If so, why wasn’t he charged? All I see is drug-related charges. He has not been convicted of a felony at this time, just charged. What is most puzzling is how does this arrest fall into the category of a violent crime. So many variables. I am curious as to the outcome of this case.
This man is cultivating drugs to sell, not for medical reasons, but for street sales. The fact he possibly had permits for his cache of weapons doesn’t diminish the fact he was cultivating drugs for sale. Instead it says a lot about the proliferation of guns and how easy it is for any fool to posses firearms. Conventional wisdom tells me those guns were there to protect his illegal drug trade.
So far, it does look like the main illegal activity was cultivating and selling drugs. There was a comment from Perez that the investigation is continuing in terms of the money trail. Sounds like it was a very profitable venture. As to the guns, no clear info yet. The suspect did not use any forearms in his arrest and from I read, offered no struggle either. Obviously, this guy owned the guns but the way they were displayed sure made it look very impressive. Bit of a photo op??? Will have to wait to hear some more details about the guns. These are NOT the type of firearms you see on the streets of Bridgeport. It may be a reflection of the convoluted state of mind of many people who own guns LEGALLY. They just can’t stop buying more and more guns. I read a statistic that FEWER people in the U.S. own guns, but those who do own, own multiple guns and in many cases dozens of guns.