Crocs Caper Gang Arrested

A gang of six young people has been charged with multiple felonies for the early morning theft of a safe containing $2,000 from a Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets store.

The crew, residents of Clinton, Haddam and Branford, hit the Crocs shoe store at the Route 81 mall about 2 a.m. March 1, smashing through the glass door to gain access and then using a crowbar to pry the store’s safe from the floor.

Leaving the crowbar behind, the group fled to a pond in Haddam, police said, where they forced open the safe to remove about $2,000 in cash before throwing the safe into the pond.

Police said some of the six suspects had worked together to burglarize Willoughby’s Coffee Shop in Branford about a week before planning the Clinton job. In both the Branford and Clinton jobs, inside information was provided by one of the group who had worked at the targeted store, police noted.

Arrested on warrants April 8 were Tyler Sullivan, 18, of Clinton, charged with burglary, larceny, conspiracy to commit burglary and larceny, criminal mischief, and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief; Lindsey Clark, 20, of Haddam, charged with burglary and larceny and conspiracy to commit burglary and larceny; and Brittany Lindgren, 20, of Branford, also charged with burglary, larceny, and conspiracy.

A 17-year-old member of the gang was charged with burglary, larceny, conspiracy to commit burglary and larceny, criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief.

Police also have warrants in the case for two other suspects, both Branford residents who have yet to be located, police reported.

Police said the group pulled off the Branford burglary with information provided by Lindgren, who worked at the coffee shop. Clinton police were unsure how much money was stolen, but believe it has not been recovered.

Lindgren was arrested last year, but had applied as a first-time offender for accelerated rehabilitation, which – until this latest arrest - could have cleared her record of the charge.

The Clinton robbery was planned with information provided by Clark, police said, who had worked at the Crocs store and knew that money was kept in the safe. She and Sullivan more recently had been employed at another Clinton Crossing store.

Most of the participants have confessed to their involvement in the crime, police said, leading police to the Haddam pond where the safe was recovered, but the money was not.

Police said they were led to the suspects by the certain belief that the store was targeted because inside information was available, and by rumors about the suspects that began swirling around The Morgan School not long after the burglary.

Initially held on $10,000 bond for a court appearance April 8, the suspects were released on a promise to appear again in court April 25.