A Middletown man was arrested hiding in a wooded area near the Hospital of Central Connecticut after he was located in town following a domestic violence incident in Meriden.
On Wednesday, April 2, the Meriden Police Department requested help in locating
Orlando Rodriquez
, 28, of Middletown. Rodriquez, who was reportedly driving a stolen vehicle and possibly armed, had his phone traced to the area of Vermont Avenue in Southington.
Officers checked the area and found the stolen vehicle parked in an unoccupied driveway on Vermont Avenue. Police officers began searching with a K-9 unit.
A witness reported seeing someone matching Rodriquez’s description in the parking lot near the hospital. Police would find Rodriquez in a wooded area between the hospital and the Southington Care Center.
Rodriquez was observed throwing something into the woods as officers approached. The item was later determined to be a knife. Rodriquez was taken into custody without further incident after he became entangled in a brier patch.
Rodriquez was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon and released on a $25,000 bond. He was turned over to the Meriden Police Department for the stolen vehicle and domestic violence charges.
Derynoski Elementary School, the Southington Library and the Hospital of Central Connecticut were informed and advised of the situation as police searched for Rodriquez.