Police: Officers called to Bridgeport apartment building hours before explosion due to person of interest
Diaz is well known to law enforcement. He currently has a case pending in Bridgeport Superior Court on charges of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, criminal trespass and attempt to commit larceny.
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A Bridgeport man, who police have named a person of interest in an explosion at an apartment building, was loudly banging on people’s doors just hours before the blast, according to Bridgeport Police Department Capt. Kevin Gilleran.
Gilleran said officers were first called to 1512 North Ave. before 8 p.m. Wednesday due to Diaz, 35, causing a disturbance. Gilleran stated Diaz doesn’t live there.
“I will just say he was adamant about looking for an item that he misplaced,” Gilleran told News 12, declining to go into further detail. “He was asked to leave.”
But Gilleran said Diaz was seen “briskly” exiting the building’s front door around 12:30 a.m. Thursday right after an explosion in one of the hallways. Police took him into custody for questioning and charged him with disorderly conduct.
“That disorderly conduct charge is for making all that disturbance inside of the apartment complex and still being there afterwards, when they [police] were called back there for the explosion,” Gilleran stated.
The blast blew the door off one of the units on the third floor. It caused first responders to evacuate over 100 people from the area as a precaution. Geraldine Johnson Elementary School across the street was set up as a temporary shelter for displaced residents. No one was hurt in the explosion.
Gilleran told News 12 police continue to investigate the blast with the FBI, and Diaz remains on their radar.
“He's not a suspect at this point, but could he potentially be a suspect in the future? He could. Right now, he's just a person of interest, somebody we have to look into further,” Gilleran explained.
Diaz is well known to law enforcement. He currently has a case pending in Bridgeport Superior Court on charges of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, criminal trespass and attempt to commit larceny. Diaz also has a case in Milford Superior Court on charges of interfering with an officer, burglary and engaging police in a pursuit.
In 2015, he was convicted in federal court and sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a drug robbery scheme. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Diaz also has convictions out of state court for the sale of narcotics.
Diaz's bond for the disorderly conduct charge was set at $25,000, which he posted. He's due to make his first appearance in court on June 24.
