NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- At the Police Department's weekly CompStat meeting, Lt. Marty Tchakirides flashed a picture of a woman spotted in Westville Monday who he worried would become a thorn in the neighborhood's side. Less than two hours later, she was in handcuffs across town.
The arrest perhaps underscores the value police Chief Dean Esserman finds in the crime strategy meetings: Open lines of communication between colleagues and partners. Esserman presides and, often, presses district managers for strategies to address growing crime trends.
Tchakirides didn't have a trend but he did have an unusual incident involving a woman with a history of burglaries.
She had a pending arrest warrant. He asked colleagues to keep an eye out for her.
Vickie Eberg's name came up Monday in Westville. She went to the back door of a house on Yale Avenue holding a puppy ringing the bell, repeatedly, police said.
When the homeowner came up from the basement, Eberg claimed she was delivering a puppy for Petco to a home on Yale Avenue.
The resident pointed the way and, suspicious, noted her license plate number.
Police ran the plate and saw her arrest record.
She had an outstanding warrant out of Branford.
"I'm figuring after my last burglar, no, no, I'm going to get on this quick," Tchakirides said.
About 1 1/2 hours after the meeting, Sgt. Vinnie Anastasio got a call about a suspicious vehicle with a woman inside it in the East Shore. He drove by, then past again to get the license number. It was parked near the highway in an area that has given him trouble, he said.
The woman exited carrying some groceries. He pulled over up the street and ran the plate. Vicky Eberg.
The name sounded familiar but it took a moment to register with Tchakirides' report. He called his colleague.
But when he looked in his rear view mirror, the car was gone. He put out a broadcast and moments later another officer pulled her over. Police arrested her on the warrant and for the six bags of crack and heroin they found.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Tchakirides said later.
As for his "last burglar," police have a suspect who is not charged in as many as four burglaries in Westville, police said.
When Esserman arrived in the city, police held the crime analysis meetings every three weeks and sometimes less often. Esserman ordered the meetings to take place weekly.
Copyright 2012 - New Haven Register, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
