Nick Costantini
Staff Writer
The two fires that arose from Silver Sands have been solved with the connection to 3 Stratford teens, suspected of arson, and a possible gas leak in the building. “There have been many rumors across town of who could have been a part of these acts. It’s said that many residents on the west side of town disagreed with the building of this recreation center as it was viewed as pointless and a money waster, it also was becoming harmful for the environment around. My grandparents were really upset when they heard it being built” said Senior, Owen Schmidt, when asked if he had relatives near the beach. Residents protested against the building ever since it has been brought into light, residents all over the area had filed complaints to the city. Though they found the complaints didn’t bring up any valuable points to stop construction. Residents were claiming that it wasn’t needed and would just hurt the environment around, especially with lots of wild animals in the area.
Originally, it was thought that someone who lived nearby, took it to themselves to destroy the building, though no evidence was ever found for arson. It’s suspected that some of the gas heaters were left on and when a spark flew, the whole place started to burn up. This still hasn’t been concluded, though is looking like an honest accident as of now. Yet when a second fire arose a few days later, everyone in Milford was suspicious to see who was doing this. Especially since the containers had about $9.1 million in materials. In reality, it turns out that two Stratford teen arsons were responsible for the burning of the storage containers, holding the building materials. Christopher Sakowicz and Vincent Keller, both 18, have been charged with criminal trespassing, larceny, criminal mischief, and other charges. Both teens are troubled and have a lot to deal with the next few months. You can see in their photos about the concern and pressure they have on themselves. The catching of the two teens also lead the police to make a connection to the Shakespeare theatre fire which took place a few months back. The teens were also connected to two more fires that were started in West Haven. This means the pair had set 4 total fires the police connected to. There could possibly be more.
The two will most likely be charged with a heavy bond and some prison time since they burned down four other locations intentionally. There are no reports to why the boys started the fires but it can clearly be seen as something they found as fun. The trial is currently still going on so there haven’t been any more recent updates to what the two will be charged with and what will happen to them. “They should be charged for sure, they committed an arson and not even just one. No one just burns places down.” said Jonathan Law Senior, Zach Smith, a nearby resident of Silver Sands. He agreed that the two should see time in jail for this considering they’ve set other fires, and would probably continue to do so.
