Warrants detail alleged crime spree prior to police chase with Hummer

Hannah Casperson and Thomas Crawford met at a "trap house" in Waterbury and went on a month-long crime spree to pay for their drug addiction before Casperson's multi-town police chase Sunday, according to newly released arrest warrants from Waterbury police.

Marissa Alter

Apr 7, 2022, 9:52 PM

Updated 978 days ago

Share:

Hannah Casperson and Thomas Crawford met at a "trap house" in Waterbury and went on a month-long crime spree to pay for their drug addiction before Casperson's multi-town police chase Sunday, according to newly released arrest warrants from Waterbury police.
Crawford, 31, of Naugatuck, was taken into custody two days before Casperson, 25, of Brookfield, and told police everything.
"He stated that they began to commit shopliftings at various locations throughout the city, including Dick's Sporting Goods, the mall and various other locations," one warrant stated, noting Crawford was "very forthcoming."
Crawford said in every case, Casperson would drive the Hummer, and he'd go into the stores to steal. He also confessed to other crimes police had already tied the duo to, like the theft of parking meters near St. Mary's Hospital on March 11.
In Crawford's interview, "He stated that Hannah would hit the meters with the Hummer to loosen them, then he would pull them from the ground. Crawford said they took the meters to the end of Silver Street, where he smashed them on concrete barriers, getting approximately $60 in cash."
The warrants state Crawford also admitted to breaking into 14 cars in Waterbury on March 31 and April 1, "using a window punch to break out windows." In one, three diamond rings, three sweatshirts, and a pair of Jordan sneakers were taken, a total value of $6,100. Another $1,000 was stolen from a wallet in an additional car, and a pair of $200 headphones from a third car.
Wolcott police said Casperson and Crawford were also behind 41 car break-ins in their town just on April 1.
"They didn't get a lot of stuff from the cars, not enough to support their habit I would say," said Wolcott police Chief Edward Stephens at a news conference Monday. "So that's why they came back into town."
Later that day, police tracked them to Pat's IGA in Wolcott where Crawford was arrested with a cart full of meat that Stephens said he was about to steal.
"He was ready to go out the door and evidently Hannah had seen the police pulling into the lot, and she fled," Stephens told reporters.
Police posted information about Casperson's SUV to social media. Sunday morning someone called in to say it was parked on Rutledge Street in Waterbury. That led to what has become a viral video. It shows Casperson slamming her SUV into a police cruiser to avoid arrest. What followed was a multi-town chase that ended in Monroe with seven officers and Casperson in the hospital.
Warrants filed in Waterbury Superior Court state the Hummer was registered to Casperson and her father in Brookfield, and police had been trying to locate it since before last week, noting "to check the condition of Hannah, who was known to use drugs and frequent the Waterbury area."
"This vehicle has been seen by officers on multiple occasions in the City of Waterbury, who attempted to stop the vehicle and identify the parties, however, they were unsuccessful as the Hummer did not stop for officers and it was not engaged in pursuits."