Stamford Clothing Store Owner Charged with Residential Burglary

By John Nickerson, Stamford Advocate

STAMFORD — A West Side clothing store owner has been accused of being the wheelman in a residential burglary.

Police said Johan Cifuentes, 29, of Peveril Road, was driving the getaway car and was the mastermind behind a Glenbrook home burglary in April that was interrupted when a neighbor saw one of the men climbing through a front window.

Two of the suspects were arrested moments after the burglary when an officer spotted the black BMW SUV described as the getaway vehicle.

Outside the SUV police said they found several items, including a Samsung cellphone and three prescription pill bottles, that belonged to the Sutton Drive West homeowner.

One of the two men originally charged told police Cifuentes plotted the burglary, saying the residents owned several restaurants and likely had plenty of cash around the house, according to an arrest affidavit.

One of the men also told police Cifuentes drove them to the West Side where he got into a white BMW SUV , the affidavit said. The two men then drove the black SUV to Cifuentes’ Peveril Road home where they were stopped by police, the affidavit said.

Police said the black SUV was registered to Cifuentes’ girlfriend, the affidavit said. The woman said Cifuentes leased the vehicle, the affidavit said.

Cifuentes turned himself in Wednesday and was initially held in lieu of a $100,000 court appearance bond. However, he was released later that morning after his bond was lowered at his arraignment to $25,000.

Cifuentes’ attorney, Daniel Weiner, argued during the arraignment that his client has owned a Colombian clothing store on West Main Street for more than two years. Weiner said his client had no record and has been in Stamford for 11 years.

“We are still investigating (the accusations) and we are hoping to get down to the bottom of it shortly,” Weiner said.

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