2 Arrested In Downtown Ansonia Robbery: Police

ANSONIA, CT — Police have arrested two people in connection with the East Main Street robbery over the weekend that was caught on video.

The incident happened Saturday around 11:40 p.m. A male victim told police he was in a motor vehicle accident, and then the driver of the other car began yelling at him, then took his wallet and phone. The man was not injured during the robbery, police said.

On Wednesday, police secured arrest warrants for two individuals.

Tashira Sparks, 19, of Ansonia, and Carl Octavio Brown, 29, of Bridgeport, were both charged with third-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit third-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit second-degree larceny, and second-degree breach of peace.

Sparks was additionally charged with second-degree threatening and first-degree unlawful restraint.

Both were arraigned in Superior Court in Derby on Thursday.

Ansonia Police Chief Wayne Williams said he is “outraged” people who witnessed the robbery videotaped it for social media, but didn’t bother to contact police for help.

“This is not just disappointing—it is disgraceful,” Williams said, in a Facebook post. “When someone is being victimized, the right thing to do is to step up—call 911, get help, do something. Instead, people chose to pull out their phones and chase social media attention while an innocent person was suffering. That is completely unacceptable.”

According to Williams, when witnesses videotape a crime instead of immediately contacting police, it puts victims at greater risk and increases the chance criminals could escape justice.

“Your phone should be a tool for calling for help, not for exploiting someone’s pain for likes, clicks and shares,” he added.

Police said they subsequently got tips from people who saw video of the incident online, and Williams thanked those who ultimately came forward with information to help them catch the suspects.