Accused Car Thief Caught In Store Hiding

A stolen-car arrest in South Windsor turned into a little demo of how modern local policing works. A license-plate reader flagged the vehicle as it came into town. Officers spotted it, watched it drive recklessly, lost it for a moment, then picked the trail back up with another camera alert. Minutes later, they found the car in the Target lot and the suspect inside the store. (fox61.com) ### Who got arrested? Police identified the suspect as Roger J. Czupryna, 25, of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. He was arrested on Wednesday, May 7, after South Windsor officers tracked the stolen vehicle from Route 5 and Scantic Road to the shopping area near Lowe’s and Target. (fox61.com) (msn.com) ### What started the chase? The whole thing began around 9:30 a.m., when an automated license plate reader alerted police that a stolen vehicle had entered South Windsor from East Windsor. Officers then located the car on Sullivan Avenue and say the driver was reckless — including running the red light at Sullivan Avenue and Troy Road. (fox61.com) ### How did police find him after losing the car? This is the part that makes the story click. Police lost sight of the vehicle, but a second license-plate-reader alert showed it had gone through the access road linking Buckland Road with the Lowe’s-Target area. Officers found the vehicle parked in a corner of the Target lot, unoccupied, then used Target surveillance video to get a description of the suspect and locate Czupryna inside the store. Basically, the cameras stitched the gap back together. (fox61.com) ### Was he really hiding? The local summaries say he was found hiding in the store after trying to elude police. The fuller police account is a little more precise — officers found the car empty, got a description from store cameras, and then located him inside Target. So the broad point holds, but the key fact is that he did not stay with the vehicle and police had to identify him inside the store. (fox61.com) ### What did police say was in the car? This is where the case gets heavier than a simple stolen-vehicle arrest. Police say the vehicle contained cash tied to a burglary in Massachusetts, tools stolen in a Connecticut burglary, and 12 stolen debit cards linked to several burglaries in Massachusetts. That suggests investigators were looking at a wider pattern, not just one car theft. (fox61.com) ### What charges is he facing? Czupryna was charged with reckless driving, a traffic-signal violation, larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny in the fifth degree, larceny in the sixth degree, 12 counts of illegal theft of payment cards, and interfering with an officer. Police held him on a $250,000 surety bond, with a scheduled court appearance in Manchester Superior Court on May 8. (msn.com) ### Why does the “month ago” detail matter? Because this was not his first recent South Windsor case. Roughly a month earlier, Czupryna had already been charged in connection with a 2022 attempted theft involving a shed on Main Street, where police said suspects tried to steal a four-wheeler and a dirt bike. He was arrested on that warrant on April 1 and was due in court in mid-April. (fox61.com) ### What’s the bottom line? This story looks small at first — stolen car, suspect runs, police catch him. But the real point is bigger. South Windsor police say a reader network and store cameras turned a brief escape into an arrest, and the items found in the vehicle may connect the case to multiple burglaries across two states. (wwlp.com) (fox61.com)