Homeless Man Arrested for Library Disturbances

arrested a homeless man Saturday afternoon after he reportedly caused a disturbance at Ferguson Library downtown, then returned to confront security officials there after he’d been led away.

Douglas Panetta, 50, who gave his address as 597 Pacific St., where Stamford’s Shelton for the Homeless is located, was arrested at 2:14 p.m. on March 3 and charged with first-degree criminal trespass and second-degree breach of peace.

According to police, Panetta was reported to be drunk, banging on furniture and swearing in the library’s second-floor computer area. Police said they arrived and told Panetta to leave, which he did, only to return later to confront the security guard and start swearing again, still drunk.

After running Panetta’s name, police said they discovered that he was wanted on drug-related charges in Bergen, NJ. Panetta was remanded to Bergen police as a fugitive from justice in New Jersey, where a $100,000 bond was imposed, Stamford police said.

He was released on $1,000 bond from Stamford and scheduled to appear March 16 in state Superior Court in Stamford.