Two Stamford Men Charged with Robbery Attempt

Two Stamford men who used a bottle to threaten three others and tried to rob them Feb. 26 on the West Side have now been arrested, according to Stamford police.

Melvin Candray, 34, of Durant Street, an immigrant from El Salvador, and Jaime Gonzalez-Moran of Stillwater Avenue, an immigrant from Guatamala, tried to rob three immigrants and are suspected of robbing others, Stamford police Lt. Dedrich Hohn said.

The pair were frequently seen at the corner of Alden Street and Stillwater Avenue, he said.

Hohn said the two are "alleged members of the MS-13 gang, which is responsible for several assaults and robberies of Hispanic immigrants on the West Side." Most of the victims have been reluctant to go to police because of fear of reprisals, he said. In this case, he said, three men did come forward.

As they investigated the incident, Hohn said, Stamford police worked with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which has put a retainer on the two men so that if they make bail, they can be taken into custody and deported as illegal immigrants.

Candray and Gonzalez-Moran were each arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree breach of the peace, attempted second-degree assault and second-degree threatening.

***

Other recent arrests:

• Mark P. LaFontaine, 45, of Main Street was arrested at 9:58 a.m. Thursday on a charge of second-degree failure to appear in court.

• Walter Ortiz, 38, of the same address as LaFontaine was arrested at 10:43 a.m. Thursday, also on a charge of second-degree failure to appear in court.

• Ann Santoro-Moavero, 46, of High Ridge Road, was arrested at 9:37 a.m. Thursday on charges of risk of injury to a child, possession of narcotics and use of drug paraphernalia.