Cryptocurrency Fraud, Nude Photos & DUI Top Redding Police Blotter

REDDING, CT — Cryptocurrency fraud, attempted extortion and a DUI were atop the cases being investigated by the Redding Police Department in the beginning of January.

On Jan. 17, police charged Catherine Matthews, 72, of Turkey Plain Road/Route 53 in Bethel with DUI and running a stop sign at the intersection of Route 53 and Diamond Hill Road, after they say she hit another vehicle. Matthews was issued a $1,000 bond and scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court on Feb. 6.

On Jan. 7, a Seventy Acre Road resident complained to police of being the victim of check fraud. There were no further details available.

The next day, a White Birch Road resident advised police they were the victim of a cryptocurrency fraud. There were no further details available.

On Jan. 9, Redding police fielded a complaint from a Hill Road/Route 107 resident that someone was attempting to extort money from him on the basis of nude photos he allegedly sent from his computer. This investigation remains open.

A Gallows Hill Road resident told police she noticed money was taken out of the account to pay someone else's credit card while she was paying her bills on Jan. 12. This investigation remains open.

The investigations into these reports of fraud and ID theft are still open: A Portland Avenue resident complained on Jan. 18 that her bank had informed her "that her social security number was somehow leaked out into the dark web," according to police. And a Hill Road/Route 107 resident told police on Jan. 17 he had been "scammed by a woman that he had been talking to on a Quora website."

The Redding PD investigated a three-vehicle accident on Turney Road on Jan. 13. One motorist rear-ended a second, who in turn collided with the driver in front of them. The first driver was issued a written warning for following too closely. Nobody was injured.

There were also no injuries reported in a two-car collision on Jan. 15. According to police, one motorist rear ended another who was paused at the stop sign at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Poverty Hill Road. The first driver was issued a written warning for following too closely.

Two motorists collided at the intersection of Black Rock Turnpike/Route 58 and Joel Barlow Drive on Jan. 16. There were no injuries, and no action taken by the police, according to their report.

On Jan. 7, the Redding Police Department investigated a report of an unoccupied van off the road at the intersection of Wood Road and Pocahontas Road. Police later learned the driver had driven right through the intersection and into an embankment on Pocahontas Road. No injuries were reported.

Police say a vehicle pulling out of the parking lot of the Days Inn on Ethan Allen Highway/Route 7 on Jan. 8 struck another vehicle as it passed by. No injuries were reported, and police issued the motorist a warning for failure to grant the right of way from a private driveway.

The next day, police responded to a single-car accident after a motorist lost control rounding a sharp curve on Black Rock Turnpike/Route 58 near #440. The vehicle then struck and damaged 100 feet of metal guard rail, according to police, who issued the driver a warning for an improper turning maneuver. No injuries were reported.

On Jan. 19, one motorist rear ended another, who was paused at a stop sign on Pinetree Road at the intersection with Route 58. Police issued the first motorist a warning for failure to drive a reasonable distance apart, but reported no injuries,