Torrington Brawls Land Teens, Mom Behind Bars
Brawl leads to tighter security at Torrington High School.
What started as a fight between Torrington High School students escalated into a bizarre case of a mom chasing a teen in a car and threats of gang violence and retaliation on city streets, police said.
It all started on Thursday when a couple of teenagers got into a fight at Besse Park after school, police said.
On Saturday, the problem grew when another fight broke out, four teens attacked a boy from the rival group and a mom got involved, police said.
"Mother (Kerry Langdeau, 35) remained in the vehicle and drove over on the sidewalk and chased down another juvenile, nearly hitting him," Torrington Police Lieutenant Michael Emanuel said.
Police arrested the four teens and Landeau.
On Monday, Torrington police launched a zero-tolerance policy to squash tensions and rumors that were circulating through the city, including that a New York-based gang was coming with machetes to retaliate. But
That was just a rumor, police said.
"We found it to be non-credible, non-threatening," Emanuel said.
The principal of Torrington High school sent parents an urgent message Monday, alerting them to the fights.
They arrested Samuel Cosme Jr., 18, and Bryon Cronin, 18, were charged with second-degree breach of peace and was held on a $10,000 bond
Brian Heller, 19, was charged with second-degree breach of peace, second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor. He is being held on a $150,000 bond.
Dilyen Langdeau, 18, was charged with second-degree breach of peace, third-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor. He is being held on a $75,000 bond;
Kerry Langdeau, 35, was charged with second-degree breach of peace, reckless driving and risk of injury to a minor. She is being held on a $150,000 bond.
!mportant Message from Dr. Olsen!
March 8, 2010
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Over the past few days, there have been off site altercations in the community. We are working with the Torrington Police Department to resolve this situation. We have been proactive in dealing with students who are involved and to date there have not been any altercations during the school day at Torrington High School. Please be assured that there is an ongoing investigation and extra staff are in place to provide supervision during unstructured time.
In an effort to provide the best security, all doors to Torrington High School are locked all the time. Students may enter the building by the southeast stairs near the cafeteria at 6:30 a.m. provided they are wearing their lanyard/ID. Starting at 6:45 a.m., students may also enter the building by the Little Theater provided they are wearing their lanyard/ID. At 7:10 a.m., students may enter the building under the canopy provided they are wearing their lanyard/ID. All students are expected to be in school by 7:20 a.m.
We are committed to providing all students at Torrington High School a safe learning environment, which is free from any intimidation, threat of physical violence or bullying. We do not tolerate anyone who compromises your child’s safety or your child’s right to an education.
Sincerely,
Marsha Olsen
Marsha Olsen, Ph.D.
TorringtonHigh School Interim Principal
Posted Tuesday, Mar 9, 2010 - 11:05 PM EST
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