Trumbull Police arrested a New Haven man for a variety of charges at the Westfield Trumbull Mall Friday afternoon, December 9, after he was found in a stolen motor vehicle with a juvenile female who he had just met. Trumbull Police located the vehicle, which was reported stolen to the New Haven Police Department on December 7, in the mall parking lot where the vehicle was recovered and the occupants apprehended.
At approximately 5:30 PM, a Trumbull officer located 18-year-old Malikhi Isiah Odums, of New Haven, sitting in the driver’s seat of the stolen Hyundai Kona, as it was stopped in front of the lower-level Target area. As back up officers were responding to assist, a passenger entered the stolen vehicle which then drove away, with the initial officer following. The Hyundai then pulled into a parking space before Odums and his thirteen (13) year old female passenger were quickly taken into police custody.
The Hyundai Kona had the steering column broken where the key cylinder had been removed and there was a USB cable used to override the vehicle’s ignition system. Officers learned that this vehicle and its occupants were connected to numerous stolen vehicle attempts in New Haven in recent days, and had fled from officers who had tried to apprehend them in that city.
It was determined that female juvenile was not involved in the theft of the vehicle and that she had just met Odums at the mall that night. She was later released to the care of her mother. During the investigation, Odums provided false information to police which included him signing police documents under a false name.
Odums was charged with Larceny 1st degree, Risk of Injury to a Minor, Forgery 2nd degree, and Interfering with an Officer. He was held on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on December 19, 2022.