Meriden Man, 39, Charged After Threatening 2 Kids With Firearm: EHPD

EAST HAVEN, CT — Sunday night just after 7 pm, East Haven police were called to the area of 439 Main St., following a report that a “man had threatened two juveniles with a firearm during a confrontation.”

According to police spokesperson Capt. Joseph M. Murgo, the “suspect stopped his vehicle in the roadway and engaged the juveniles in a verbal argument.”

Murgo said that during the “encounter, he allegedly pointed a handgun at the two juveniles from inside his vehicle before exiting while still armed and challenging them” and then fleeing the area in his vehicle.

Officers immediately broadcast the suspect vehicle's description and within minutes Officers Andrew Newkirk and Robert Celentano located a matching Honda Accord traveling east on Main Street, Murgo said. Officers conducted a motor vehicle stop and safely took the driver into custody without incident, he said, adding the man was identified as Jose Juan Velasquez Jr., 39, of Meriden.

“During the investigation, officers recovered a Ruger SP101 .357 caliber revolver from inside the vehicle,” Murgo said, noting that Velasquez's Connecticut pistol permit had expired in 2025.

Velasquez was charged with first-degree threatening, risk of injury to a child, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace, carrying a pistol without a permit, and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.

Velasquez was held on a $150,000 surety bond and was transported to New Haven Superior Court Monday.