New Haven police officer charged with stealing cash from restaurant Officer allegedly took payroll money from city restaurant

Bobby Jones Bobby Jones Photo: Journal Register Co. Photo: Journal Register Co. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close New Haven police officer charged with stealing cash from restaurant 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> A New Haven police officer has been arrested and charged with stealing several hundred dollars from a local restaurant.

Officer Bobby Jones, 34, allegedly stole as many as two envelopes containing payroll cash from the restaurant, according to a release Thursday from police spokesman Officer David Hartman. Hartman declined to provide the name or location of the business, as well as the owner’s name, saying it was not being revealed at the insistence of the business owner.

The case began Monday, after police Chief Dean Esserman received a phone call from the restaurant’s attorney, who said he needed to discuss suspected criminal activity by an officer. On Tuesday, the attorney arrived at police headquarters and presented video evidence of Jones allegedly stealing the cash, Hartman said.

Jones appears in the video on two occasions, one time in uniform and on duty, and another in plain clothes and off duty, Hartman said. He met with investigators Tuesday and provided a statement on the allegations.

Jones was charged with third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny. He was placed on administrative leave.

Hartman declined to release the video, noting “This criminal case is on-going. The surveillance footage itself is evidentiary and therefore not available from police.”

In addition to the criminal investigation, Hartman said police are conducting an administrative investigation to determine charges such as conduct unbecoming of an officer, which can result in termination.

Jones is a five-year veteran of the New Haven Police Department and graduated from the Police Academy in September 2009.

“It is sad that we need to pursue a criminal complaint against one of our own,” Esserman said in a statement. “We owe it to this local business owner, our communities and Officer Jones himself to assure a thorough and accurate investigation is completed. We are working closely with the State’s Attorney’s Office to assure this case is handled with the professional scrutiny and integrity it so deserves.”

At this time, the police union — Elm City Local — is not involved. The union deals mostly with personnel and labor matters and takes “a limited role” in these types of criminal cases, union attorney Marshall Segar said. Segar said Jones has secured private counsel to represent him in the criminal case and that he has elected to fully cooperate with investigators.

“I’m sure that this will blossom into a personnel and labor matter,” Segar said.

At such time, the union likely would get involved. “The union has spoken to (Jones). We encouraged him to do what he thinks is best,” Segar said.