The Hartford man accused of beating and carjacking an elderly woman outside Macy's in Enfield committed the crime immediately after being released from custody on separate charges, according to police.
Juan Raphael Ortiz, 56, of Hartford, was supposed to be arraigned in Enfield Superior Court on Monday on charges of escaping from police custody. Instead, prosecutors decided not to pursue that charge against him over concerns that the case should have been handled in a different courthouse, according to court records and Windsor police.
Right after his release, Ortiz walked up to the street to the Enfield Square Mall, where he allegedly attacked a 70-year-old woman and stole her car.
He was subsequently arrested in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, after he crashed into a snow bank while Enfield police chased after him. Ortiz is now back in custody.
"It is horrific when you stop to think that someone would punch a defenseless 70-year-old woman like that. It's reprehensible and we're proud that we were able to put him in custody and let the justice system now do their duty," said Chief Carl Sferrazza of the Enfield Police Department.
Police said they weren't expecting Ortiz to be released after escaping from police custody at Hartford Hospital in December following a shoplifting arrest.
"We were under the impression that we were solid," said Windsor Police Capt. Tom LePore. "We asked for a warrant and, as I said, the warrant was reviewed and signed by prosecutors and a judge at GA 13. We were a little surprised to find out that there is jurisdictional issue."
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It's not clear why the jurisdictional issues related to the escape case weren't caught sooner.
Windsor police raised the question about whether it should have been handled in Hartford when they applied for the warrant in Enfield, according to LePore.
The judicial branch declined to comment and prosecutors did not respond to our request for comment.
"Mr. Ortiz has a pretty significant history. We're hopeful that when he gets apprehended for this last incident that he's taken away from society where he's been doing so much harm," said LePore.
Ortiz is a convicted felon with a lengthy record including convictions for drug possession, larceny and threatening.
Editors Note: The original version of this article said the judge in the case threw out the escape from custody charge against Ortiz, but it was the prosecutors who decided not to pursue the charge.
