Post by KC on Jun 7, 2006 20:30:53 GMT -5
June 07, 2006 - MANCHESTER - A town constable was to appear in court today in connection with an April incident during which he impersonated a police officer while helping a friend try to retrieve a piece of landscaping equipment from a Wyllys Street home, according to police.
The constable, Collins Johnston, of 4 Grandview St., was arrested May 26 on charges of impersonating an officer, first-degree criminal trespass, and breach of peace. He was released after posting $10,000 bond in the case.
According to an affidavit supporting Johnston's arrest, Officer Gary Gibson was dispatched to the home at 87 Wyllys St. on the afternoon of April 28 after the owner of the home reported that there were people in her yard trying to steal construction equipment.
When Gibson arrived, the affidavit says, the homeowner told him that four men had come into her yard without permission and tried to take a piece of construction equipment that had been brought there by workers from Yankee Fence, which she hired to do some work on the property.
The woman told Gibson that during the incident the men wouldn't leave when she asked them to, and one of them had said he was a cop and flashed a badge, according to the affidavit.
One of the men gave the woman a business card identifying himself as Al Kupchunos, who Gibson called on a cell phone number listed on the card. Kupchunos told Gibson that he used to do business with Yankee Fence but that business had since dissolved.
Kupchunos told Gibson he had gone to the Wyllys Street home to retrieve a piece of Bobcat construction equipment that belonged to him and was on the property, the affidavit says. He also identified the man who had flashed the badge as Johnston, who he said was "just a friend trying to help him out," according to the affidavit.
One of the Yankee Fence workers on the property at the time told Gibson that during the incident Johnston had said, "I'm a cop, the law is on his side and he has a right to be here," and claimed "It's a property seizure," the affidavit says.
The worker, who characterized the arrival of the four men on the property as "like a goon squad," also told Gibson that at one point Johnston threatened to "make a phone call for backup."
Four days after the incident, the affidavit says, Gibson talked to Johnston at his Grandview Street home, where Johnston said he had gone to the home to help Kupchunos retrieve the equipment, but then said he could not answer any more questions and referred Gibson to his lawyer.
But on the day of the incident, the affidavit says, Kupchunos and Johnston went to the police station afterward and asked a sergeant what was required to repossess the equipment. During that conversation, the affidavit says, Johnston told police that he had assisted Kupchunos "as a friend and not in his official capacity as a town constable."
Johnston, a Republican, was most recently elected to the constable's position in 2005.
Though the affidavit says Gibson told Kupchunos' lawyer to expect a warrant relating to the incident, he has not been yet been charged in the case.
The constable, Collins Johnston, of 4 Grandview St., was arrested May 26 on charges of impersonating an officer, first-degree criminal trespass, and breach of peace. He was released after posting $10,000 bond in the case.
According to an affidavit supporting Johnston's arrest, Officer Gary Gibson was dispatched to the home at 87 Wyllys St. on the afternoon of April 28 after the owner of the home reported that there were people in her yard trying to steal construction equipment.
When Gibson arrived, the affidavit says, the homeowner told him that four men had come into her yard without permission and tried to take a piece of construction equipment that had been brought there by workers from Yankee Fence, which she hired to do some work on the property.
The woman told Gibson that during the incident the men wouldn't leave when she asked them to, and one of them had said he was a cop and flashed a badge, according to the affidavit.
One of the men gave the woman a business card identifying himself as Al Kupchunos, who Gibson called on a cell phone number listed on the card. Kupchunos told Gibson that he used to do business with Yankee Fence but that business had since dissolved.
Kupchunos told Gibson he had gone to the Wyllys Street home to retrieve a piece of Bobcat construction equipment that belonged to him and was on the property, the affidavit says. He also identified the man who had flashed the badge as Johnston, who he said was "just a friend trying to help him out," according to the affidavit.
One of the Yankee Fence workers on the property at the time told Gibson that during the incident Johnston had said, "I'm a cop, the law is on his side and he has a right to be here," and claimed "It's a property seizure," the affidavit says.
The worker, who characterized the arrival of the four men on the property as "like a goon squad," also told Gibson that at one point Johnston threatened to "make a phone call for backup."
Four days after the incident, the affidavit says, Gibson talked to Johnston at his Grandview Street home, where Johnston said he had gone to the home to help Kupchunos retrieve the equipment, but then said he could not answer any more questions and referred Gibson to his lawyer.
But on the day of the incident, the affidavit says, Kupchunos and Johnston went to the police station afterward and asked a sergeant what was required to repossess the equipment. During that conversation, the affidavit says, Johnston told police that he had assisted Kupchunos "as a friend and not in his official capacity as a town constable."
Johnston, a Republican, was most recently elected to the constable's position in 2005.
Though the affidavit says Gibson told Kupchunos' lawyer to expect a warrant relating to the incident, he has not been yet been charged in the case.