Former Fireman Faces Sex Assault Charges
A former lieutenant with the Old Lyme Volunteer Fire Department has been charged with sexually assaulting another member of the department, police said. Brian Phaneuf, 35, of Old Lyme, is accused of assaulting the girl when she was 16, Chief David Jewett said. Phaneuf has been ordered not to have contact with the alleged victim and his bond was set at $100,000. Phaneuf turned himself in Monday and appeared in New London Superior Court.
Arrested Man Died of Natural Causes
An Ansonia man who died after Derby police arrested him in January died of natural causes, according to the state medical examiner. James Thieringer collapsed while being arrested in the River Restaurant parking lot after he had been handcuffed. He was arrested after getting into an argument with two people, police said. The Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad was called in to investigate the incident because the death involved local police. Thieringer began showing signs of "medical distress" while he was in handcuffs, police said. He died after being taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Hamden Rape Suspect May Be an Illegal Alien
Local
A suspect in the beating and rape of a co-worker in Hamden has been ordered held on $2.5 million bond. Jose Angel Moreno-Hernandez might be in this country illegally, according to federal immigration officials He was in Meriden Superior Court Monday. Moreno-Hernandez is accused of attacking the woman after he asked her to give him a ride home last Friday. The woman was severely beaten and sexually assaulted several times, police said. Moreno-Hernandez allegedly punched the woman's face, beat her and sexually assaulted her. He then drove her car to the Hamden section of East Rock Park, where he raped her again, police said. The woman played dead and Moreno-Hernandez fled, police said.
