A Guilford man is hospitalized after falling from the balcony of a home on Harbor Street in Branford that he is accused of breaking into as grandmother and her grandson hid upstairs.
Branford police arrested Michael Stokes, 19, just after 10 p.m. on Saturday night after he entered a home that was occupied by a 77-year-old woman and her 10-year-old grandson, police said.
Branford Police Captain Geoffrey Morgan said that Stokes, of 131 Driftwood Lane in Guilford, entered the home through a locked screen door while the woman and her grandson were on the second floor and other family members were outside watching a fireworks display.
The grandmother and grandson hid on the second floor while Stokes broke items on the first floor, police said.
As Stokes made his way to the second floor, they tried to hide on the second floor balcony, but fearing for their safety, they both fled from the home.
Stokes fell from the second floor balcony and fell and officers found him lying on the ground, outside of the home, injured from the apparent 35-to-40-foot fall he took from the balcony.
Stokes, who officers said had been drinking, was charged with home invasion, criminal mischief in the second-degree, risk of injury to a minor, breach of peace and reckless endangerment in the second-degree.
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Stokes, who officers said had been drinking, was treated for his injuries by Branford Fire Department paramedics and transported to an area medical facility, where he is currently being held on a $200,000 bond.
He will be arraigned in court when released from treatment.
