New Year's Celebration Leads to Arrests

For two Stratford men, New Year's started off with a bang -- literally.

The two found themselves behind bars after police were called to a Derby Avenue home on the report of shots being fired, according to police.

Shortly after midnight on New Year's Day, Orange Police receive the report of gunshots fired in the area of 848 Derby Ave., according to police. When officers arrived, a witness told them that a man attending a party in a first-floor apartment had shot a gun several times into the air, according to the report.

When the officers went to the first-floor apartment, they were told that the two men allegedly involved in the shooting had locked themselves in the bathroom, police said. The officers then ordered them out, according to the report, and saw in the bathroom drugs on top of a hamper.

One of the men, Matthew Barr, 23, of 203 Barnum Terr., Stratford, admitted the drugs were his, police said. He was charged with violation of probation, possession of crack cocaine, possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell and possession of marijuana. 

Officers found that the second man, Jonathan Edwards, 24, of 26 Ryan Ave., Stratford, was responsible for the gunshots. He allegedly admitted that he fired a .40 Sig Sauer P250 handgun 14 times in the air while in the front yard of the home, police said. Police found the gun in a closet, according to the report.

Edwards was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace and unlawful discharge of a firearm. No one was injured from the shooting, police said.

Barr was held in lieu of $10,000 bond and Edwards was held in lieu of $5,000 bond. Barr is due to appear in Derby Superior Court on Jan. 22 and Edwards is due in court on Jan. 14.