2012 in Pictures, News
Friday, December 21, 2012
Gun-Toting Driver Into Anger Management Program
By Dave Matlow
UPDATE (clarifies request granted for AR program, adds attorney remarks) A Trumbull man who allegedly pointed a gun at an occupant of a car he passed in a no-passing zone in Westport in October today was granted entry into an anger management program.
Andrew Blum (r) in Norwalk Superior Court today with Attorney James W. Bergenn who said his client was “threatened” by the other man. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Judge William J. Wenzel in Norwalk Superior Court granted a request by Andrew Blum, 43, to enter the accelerated rehabilitation program and ordered him to appear in court in two years following what police described as a road rage incident.
Wenzel said the gun use issue takes on an even greater level of concern today in light of the recent tragic shootings in Newtown and the emerging discussions about gun control.
Blum, who police said had a carry permit for the Glock .40-caliber handgun, was charged with threatening and reckless endangerment in the Oct. 2 incident on Wilton Road. (See WestportNow Oct. 2, 2012) He has been free on $2,500 bond.
Police said the incident began with a 911 call at about 6 p.m. from a woman who said she and her son while traveling southbound on Wilton Road was passed by a black SUV in a no-passing zone.
The two vehicles then came to a stop and the intersection of Wilton Road and Kings Highway North where an occupant in the complainant’s vehicle approached the SUV, police said. The driver of the SUV was reported to have pointed a black-colored handgun at him and then drove off, police said.
Police traced the car to Trumbull where Blum was arrested and his gun seized as evidence, police said.
Attorney James W. Bergenn of Hartford who represented Blum told the court today that his client -– 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds—was threatened by a much larger man who got out of his vehicle at the traffic light.
Bergenn said that Blum accessed his weapon from a locked compartment between the seats of his vehicle and held it for the purpose of self defense.
In a later e-mail to WestportNow, Bergenn disputed the initial police report that his client was the aggressor and had pointed a gun at the complainant.
He said in fact the other man admitted to police that he had been “yelling obscenities and making gestures out his window, before then charging up to Mr. Blum’s vehicle.”
In response, prosecuting attorney Donna Krusinski said, “You don’t bring a gun to a fist fight.”
Wenzel recommended that Blum attend a class on the use of guns and that, within three months, see the Permit Review Board to determine the appropriateness of authorization to continue having a gun carry permit.
Blum is to appear in court again in December 2014.
Comments: Comment Policy
Another responsible gun owner
His permit should’ve been immediately and permanently revoked.
And the gun made him a “bigger man”? Who cares about his stature or lack of? Slap on the wrist for this jerk.
Next entry: Robber Hits Bank on Norwalk Line
Previous entry: Honoring the Newtown Victims
Note: WestportNow Publisher Gordon F. Joseloff is also First Selectman of Westport