News Release/Robbery Assault
Date: October 7th, 2022
From: Sergeant Dan Skoumbros
Public Information Officer
Darien Police Department
203.662.5384 / dskoumbros@darienct.gov
On 6/27/22 at 10:37pm, the Darien Police Department responded to a report of a one-car motor vehicle accident in the area of West Ave and Holmes Ave. While responding to the scene officers were updated that a Lyft driver had been stabbed and a suspect had fled the scene with the victim’s cell phone.
The victim reported picking up a customer in Stamford and while en route to a destination in Norwalk, the victim was stabbed several times shortly after entering Darien. The victim reported that he intentionally crashed his vehicle into a tree on West Ave in order to stop the attack. The victim was transported to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Darien Detectives prepared (and were granted after judicial review) numerous search warrants for Lyft account information and phone records, which promptly lead to a primary suspect. Further investigation determined the suspect was on probation in Maryland. A Baltimore County probation officer contacted Darien Detectives notifying them that the suspect had been arrested on 7/4/22 in Baltimore County for crimes unrelated to the Darien incident. Darien Detectives quickly reviewed the Maryland arrest reports and body camera footage and were able to determine the suspect was in possession of stolen property that further connected him to the Darien incident.
An arrest warrant application was submitted and was approved by a Stamford Superior Court Judge on 7/20/22 for Abiola L. Shonowo, DOB 08/09/1994, with a court set bond of one million dollars ($1,000,000.00). On 7/28/22, Shonowo was arrested again for probation violation and remained in custody in the State of Maryland awaiting extradition.
On 10/6/2022, Darien Detectives traveled to Jessup, Maryland to extradite Shonowo back to Darien, CT. Shonowo was fully processed for the following charges: Robbery in the 1st degree, Criminal Attempt to Commit Assault in the 1st degree and Larceny 4th degree. Shonowo was transported to Stamford Superior Court on 10/7/22 for arraignment.
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