Alfonso Robinson

1. Al,

   I just read a blog that you wrote in 2006 about me and stating that I was the most out-of touch African-American in the city. Funny since I have known you since 1995 when we graduated from WSCU. I have lived in Danbury all my life educated k-college and have a great understanding of how African-Americans fair in this city! When I see you since your blog you werre cordial and even exchanged numbers. To my surprise I just came across your so called blog, and to no surprise to you I take offense and have lost all respect for you. You have issues and need to seek help. If you ever have anything you need to say to me say it to me in my face don’t hide behind your blog! That’s what I’d expect from a childish coward not a man! No need to carry on a discussion as it is what it is.

   Comment by Dallas Gardner — September 10th, 2009 @ 2:48 pm

2. Hey Al Robinson, you rock! Keep up the good work

   Comment by Brian L — March 23rd, 2010 @ 4:14 pm

3. Hey Al,

   Where’s the Twitter feed? Keep up the good work.

   dj

   Comment by David J — April 5th, 2010 @ 8:16 am

4. Alfonso,
   Hey my team mate Lori from Ohio found your CT Film Festival post on the net and loaded it onto her Facebook page. I wanted to say thanks so much for coming out to cover the event and doing such a knock out job with it all. Your post looks fantastic.

   World up,
   Enzo

   Comment by Enzo Simone — May 7th, 2010 @ 1:25 am

5. Al,
   I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet you in CT, but really do appreciate the coverage. Love the article and keep up the good work with your blogs. Big thanks.

   James
   Producer, Cinematographer and Editor
   “10 Mountains 10 Years”

   Comment by James — May 7th, 2010 @ 10:12 pm

6. Hello Al:

   My friend and I chatted with you over italian food one night during the CT FESTIVAL. .Love your blog and I really do want to schedule “BLOG LESSONS” with you. Of course I’d pay tuition/fee. Meanwhile, I’ve been helping Billy Michael out with this event. Any interest in doing an interview with the Barnum author and/or Billy too? Thx. Hope you are well. More here:

   On July 5th, the town of Bethel, CT, will celebrate the 200th birthday of hometown hero, legendary showman, and quintessential American entrepreneur P.T. Barnum, with a circus and parade just steps from Barnum’s birthplace. Many find it fitting an American icon like Barnum, often referred to as the Father of the American Circus, was born the day after July 4th since he was a symbol of American entrepreneurialism and free enterprise. Also fitting will be the circus-like entertainment that day which will feature a 575 pound birthday cake, fire spinners, jugglers, acrobats, dancers, Patrick the six horned Jacob Ram, Jimmy Jo the ZeeDonk (half zebra-half donkey), Pollyanna the Camel, Zooky the Clown, dancers, and a live band. Fairfield, CT-based author A.H. Saxon, a Barnum expert, will officiate that day and will also be available for interviews prior to or during the event. He can highlight not only Barnum’s sensational side, but his lesser known works of philanthropy and civil rights activism. A press release, posters, and pre-event photos are available.

   Feel free to call or email me for more information. Thanks for considering.

   Annie Kelly 914-954-8215
   mak2000@comcast.net

   Comment by Annie Kelly — June 22nd, 2010 @ 9:23 pm

7. Al,

   Long time no see..enjoy following your work with Newstimes & around town..keep up the great work..we should get together and chat sometime..Coffee is on me..I am still living in the area..email me. Regards, JR

   Comment by JR Heyel — August 6th, 2010 @ 11:38 pm

8. State of Connecticut vs. Joe DaSilva – Why our courts SUCK!

   On or before November 5 2009 at 58 Town Hill Ave one or more ( suspected illegal immigrants ) entered the privately owned property of 58 Town Hill Avenue owned by Joe DaSilva which was a income property that apparently was vacant but secured. One of more of these ( suspected illegal immigrants ) unlawfully entered the vacant dwelling and took up residence or accommodations upon the property. This was done without the knowledge or permission of the property owner an unlawful act under Connecticut State Statutes:

   Sec. 53a-108. Criminal trespass in the second degree: Class B misdemeanor. (a) A person is guilty of criminal trespass in the second degree when, knowing that such person is not licensed or privileged to do so, (1) such person enters or remains in a building, or (2) such person enters or remains on public land. (b) Criminal trespass in the second degree is a class B misdemeanor.(1969, P.A. 828, S. 110; P.A. 05-234, S. 2.)

   Sec. 53a-103. Burglary in the third degree: Class D felony. (a) A person is guilty of burglary in the third degree when he enters or remains unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime therein. (b) Burglary in the third degree is a class D felony.(1969, P.A. 828, S. 105.)

   Sec. 53a-119. Larceny defined. A person commits larceny when, with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate the same to himself or a third person, he wrongfully takes, obtains or withholds such property from an owner. (7) Theft of services. (C) obtaining or having control over labor in the employ of another person, or of business, commercial or industrial equipment or facilities of another person, knowing that he is not entitled to the use thereof, and with intent to derive a commercial or other substantial benefit for himself or a third person, he uses or diverts to the use of himself or a third person such labor, equipment or facilities.

   Sec. 53a-126b. Criminal trover in the second degree: Class A misdemeanor. (a) A person is guilty of criminal trover in the second degree when, knowing that such person is not licensed or privileged to do so, such person uses the personal property of another without the consent of such owner, and such use results in damage to or diminishes the value of such property or subjects such owner to economic loss, fine or other penalty. (b) For the purposes of this section, “economic loss” includes uncompensated economic loss that exceeds five hundred dollars suffered by an owner of personal property who is engaged in the business of renting or leasing personal property when a person to whom such owner has rented or leased such property pursuant to a written agreement providing for the return of such property at a specified time fails to return such property within one hundred twenty hours after the owner sends a written demand to such person for the return of such property by registered mail addressed to such person at such person’s address as shown in the written agreement, unless a more recent address is known to the owner. Acknowledgment of the receipt of such written demand by such person shall not be necessary to establish that one hundred twenty hours have passed since such written demand was sent. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to personal property that is rented or leased (1) for personal, family or household purposes, or (2) pursuant to chapter 743i. (c) Criminal trover in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. (P.A. 94-114, S. 2; P.A. 06-118, S. 1.)

   Sec. 53a-182. Disorderly conduct: Class C misdemeanor. (a) A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, such person: (2) by offensive or disorderly conduct, annoys or interferes with another person; (b) Disorderly conduct is a class C misdemeanor. (1969, P.A. 828, S. 184; P.A. 01-83, S. 1.)

   Basically one of these no good illegal immigrants forcibly broke into a rental property and used it without paying rent, and then had the balls to invite others to come and use the property so they could have a drinking party on the premises. Now one would think that police would be willing to arrest them on the spot of various criminal offenses. The landlord Joe DaSilva arrives on the property for an unrelated matter being a leak. He confronts them, yells and screams at them and demands they leave. Obviously there is a communication problem and they have been consuming liquor on the property. Eventually Joe DaSilva grabs these individuals and ushers them out of his building kicking them in the ass and pushing them towards the stairs. ( legal or Illegal ).

   100% Legal under most state laws, in Connecticut state statutes permit certain actions under the law without being deemed a criminal offense and I cite:

   Sec. 53a-17. Conduct required or authorized by law or judicial decree. Unless inconsistent with any provision of this chapter defining justifiable use of physical force, or with any other provision of law, conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable when such conduct is required or authorized by a provision of law or by a judicial decree. (1969, P.A. 828, S. 17.)

   Sec. 53a-20. Use of physical force in defense of premises. A person in possession or control of premises, or a person who is licensed or privileged to be in or upon such premises, is justified in using reasonable physical force upon another person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes such to be necessary to prevent or terminate the commission or attempted commission of a criminal trespass by such other person in or upon such premises; (1969, P.A. 828, S. 20; 1971, P.A. 871, S. 6; P.A. 73-639, S. 2; P.A. 92-260, S. 5.)

   Sec. 53a-21. Use of physical force in defense of property. A person is justified in using reasonable physical force upon another person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes such to be necessary to prevent an attempt by such other person to commit larceny or criminal mischief involving property, or when and to the extent he reasonably believes such to be necessary to regain property which he reasonably believes to have been acquired by larceny within a reasonable time prior to the use of such force; but he may use deadly physical force under such circumstances only in defense of person as prescribed in section 53a-19. (1969, P.A. 828, S. 21; 1971, P.A. 871, S. 7; P.A. 92-260, S. 6.)

   Legally the landlord Joe DaSilva and his business is a crime victim here, he acted within the legal scope of the law in shoving them out of the apartment, kicking them in the ass, and sending them on their way I would say his use of force was ” Reasonable ” since it did not involve blunt trauma like beating the crap out of them. And at this point they are still subject to a criminal arrest for their actions under the law.

   Now according to the statements of these immigrants now turned witnesses they state under oath the following which is provided in obtaining an arrest warrant for Joe DaSilva by local police.

   According to court documents, Danbury PD interviewed several people who were with Encalada hours before the incident. Here’s a summary of what witness number one (CW-1) stated to police (portions of statement redacted): “On November 5 2009, I met some friends who asked me to go drink with than at an apartment on Town Hill Ave…” I stayed overnight with some of the guys “. At some point Friday morning (November 6), XXXX ” had to be taken to the hospital because he drank too much “. After he was taken away, some of the guys left and as I woke up, I saw a guy known to be DaSilva grabbing my friend (CW-2) by the neck and shirt yelling stuff in English. I do not understand lot of English but I understood DaSilvsa was saying “Get the fuck out of here!” [...] I got out of the apartment before CW-2 was thrown by DaSilva; I was starting to go down the stairs when DaSilva was still yelling and he kicked me in the back, making me slip down the stairs. [...] He yelled something like “If I see you again I’ll kill you!” [...] CW-2 and I wan towards the courthouse and Walgreens on Main Street, and CW-2 said something to me about Luis still being in the apartment and we should check on him. [...] As we were walking towards the apartment, we saw Luis lying on the ground near a dumpster.

   Witness two (CW-2) also gives his account of what happened to the police. Here’s a summary of the statement. On Friday November 6th, I was with my friends on Town Hill Ave. [...] Sometime in the morning, I saw this guy DaSilva come to the apartment. There was also a second guy but I don’t know him. DaSilva owns the house and we were not supposed to be in there. Luis was lying on the couch when DaSilva came in, he (DaSilva) was very angry, he was yelling get the fuck out of here, this is private property, he grabbed me and tried to throw me down the stairs, he hit me in the back and as I was falling I was able to grab the rail and stop myself from falling down the stairs. I think he did the same thing to CW-1 who has behind me. [...]When CW-1 and I left, Luis Encalada was still in the apartment sleeping on the couch, I did see DaSilva of back into the apartment that Luis was in as I was leaving. CW-1 and I walked around to Main St., by the Walgreens and the old court building. I then received a call on my cell phone from CW-3. CW-3 told me that he/she found Luis Encalada on the ground outside Town Hill Ave.

   These idiots admit their crimes and the landlord acted legally as the law provides and threw them out, one even admits that they had consumed so much drink that one of them had to be taken to the hospital and no one saw the landlord Joe DaSilva strike, assault, or push this one guy down the stairs. This criminal immigrant apparently fell down the stairs and injured himself, he was later found dead outside near a dumpster a ways away from the apartment he had been illegally using. They arrested the landlord Joe DaSilva for this guys death, That according to Danbury Hospital records Luis Encalada was extremely intoxicated. Encalada was most likely unable to stand, balance or defend himself, tumbled down the stairs.

   That the affiant ( The Danbury Police ) believes that on 06 November 2009 at 58 Town Hill Ave., Joseph DaSilva struck CW-1 in the back, pushed CW-1 down a flight of stairs, ( NOT IN VIOLATION OF STATE STATUTES 53a-20 ) in violation of Connecticut General Statutes. That on 06 November 2009 Joseph DaSilva struck CW-2 in the back, pushed CW-2 down a flight of stairs in violation of Connecticut General Statutes. That on 06 November 2009 Joseph DaSilva pulled the extremely intoxicated Luis Encalada from a second floor apartment at 58 Town Hill Ave., Danbury and ( No Evidence ) pushed him down a flight of stairs. That the reckless actions of Joseph DaSilva Jr., on 06 November 2009 at 58 Town Hill Ave., Danbury, Connecticut caused blunt force injury to the abdomen of Luis Encalada resulting in the death of Luis Encalada. And that these actions are in violation of the Connecticut General Statutes.

   For all the police know this ” Intoxicated ” immigrant fell down the stairs in his rush to leave after being confronted by the landlord, somewhere he did not legally belong to begin with thus a crime. And even if the landlord Joe DaSilva kicked him in the ass or ushered them out of the building by using force it would still be legal under state laws. Joseph DaSilva should not have been arrested by virtue of current state laws! This is the police department trying to appease the immigrant community and nothing more. Short of beating someone to a pulp Joseph DaSilva’s actions were 100% legal under the law as he used ” Reasonable Physical Force ” to eject them from where they had committed various criminal offenses upon HIS PROPERTY.

   Cops love the law when they apply it to everyone else but when it’s applied honestly and evenly and in some cases against them, or it pokes holes through their cases, or they can’t ignore the laws ( which they do far too often ) then they hate the law and will act in a biased manner to uphold it and enforce it. As far as I know the police did NOT arrested any of these ( suspected illegal immigrants ) for their unlawful actions, Why Not? I’d be suing the Police for several things here! You take the primary criminal offenders and paint them as victims, that’s bullshit and whats wrong with the cops and our states legal JUST-US-SYSTEM.

   Comment by David Marchetti — August 15th, 2010 @ 1:37 am

9. David,
   Other than asking what law school you graduated from…. I think most of Joe’s problem is that he lied to the cops when first confronted; denied having been there. That certainly gives the appearance that he was trying to “cover up”. That’s what brought the Nixon administration down – Not the petty burglary but the attempted cover up. Maybe it was Joe that should have called the cops and press charges against the illegals for trespass, but then who would he rent to? And Joe’s got legal representation so why don’t you let him present the defense.

   Comment by olderbytheday — August 20th, 2010 @ 10:12 am

10. Hey Al, thanks for always being thorough in your commentary….I’m following the Troy Grant case, he and I were in the Air Force together can you tell me when he is scheduled for trial or upcoming court appearances?

    Comment by c johnson — August 28th, 2010 @ 12:58 pm

11. C Johnson,

    Troy Grant’s next court appearance will be on Sept 8th. I planning on attending the hearing.

    Comment by Alfonso Robinson — September 1st, 2010 @ 5:09 pm

12. These guys were NOT legal tenants, legally they were trespassers & intruders. He should not have said anything to the police other than speak to my attorney, than again what the police were told is hear say and not much else. We will see what happens but legally speaking I think he was well within his legal rights and should not have been charged.

    Comment by David Marchetti — September 27th, 2010 @ 11:33 pm

13. this whole thing is bullshit i think we should just burn that ugly ass building down….and if these people like to party and live together we should build them a site somewere in brewster and let them have their lillte butt buddy game night.. i hate this f’in country..

    Comment by m. burns — October 22nd, 2010 @ 7:17 am

14. oh yeah and by the way there busting this guys balls when they let a killer like danny costa just walk right out of the country.. go figure

    Comment by m. burns — October 22nd, 2010 @ 7:20 am

15. AL……. you are the best i love your report about danbury 11, I thank you very much for your work

    Comment by fred — March 30th, 2011 @ 8:10 am

16. Thank you Al for posting such great pictures and videos from our event!!! Thank you for everyone who came out to support our annual chili cook-off!!!!

    Comment by Kayte Devine — March 30th, 2011 @ 12:19 pm

17. Hey Al, love your blog. keep up the great work. wanted to know if you knew about the investigation going on at ABD. seems like some of that old time slavery going on over there. check out DDS. they are conducting the investigation. may be a conclict of interest, if you look at it one way. so use both eyes. Peace!

    Comment by David B — October 14th, 2011 @ 7:03 am

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