Weapon Possession, Trespassing Charges for Two Men at a School

Two men were charged with possessing a weapon and trespassing Saturday after a city police officer saw them parked in an out-of-the-way place at the Nathaniel Ely School.

Police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

A police officer saw two men in a car parked Saturday on the school grounds at 11 Ingalls Ave. at about 10:15 a.m. Saturday. The place they were parked -- near a portable classroom, was unusual because there's a parking lot nearby.


As the officer approached, Lorenzo Darden, 38, who was driving, sped off in the car, waving at the officer as he left. The officer followed in his own car and signaled to Darden to puill over after Darden failed to stop for a stop sign.

On nearby Ryan Avenue, Darden, a Waterbury resident, parked the car and both he and his passenger, Adam Atkinson, 39, of Taylor Avenue, got out. The two started walking up a driveway at 14 Ryan Ave. The officer told them to get back in the car.

Darden and Atkinson told the officer that they didn't know anyone at 14 Ryan Ave. (and when the officer spoke to residents there, they said they didn't know Darden or Atkinson).

Darden admitted to police that he went to Ely School "to get high," police said.

Police found a knife in the car with a 4.75 inch blade, and they also found that Darden was driving without a driver's license. Both Darden and Atkinson have extensive arrest records, and each of them is on parole.

Darden told police that the knife belonged to a girlfriend who owned the car.

Police charged Darden with failure to obey a stop sign and driving without a driver's license, and they charged Darden and Atkinson with loitering, simple trespassing and possessing a weapon in a motor vehicle.