Brandon Sheehan, whose address was not immediately available, faces charges of home invasion, first-degree burglary and second-degree assault in the incident that authorities said was in retaliation for the theft of a "tree-climbing saddle" from a Newtown tree service. Police said Sheehan, along with Joseph Daleen, of New Milford, Philip Saunders, an Ohio man living in Bethel at the time, and Jacob George of Newtown, burst into the residence of an employee of the tree service on Jan. 26 and attacked the victim with a baseball bat and fists while the victim's girlfriend and another friend looked on.

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection EnCon Police Capt. Raul Camejo said Tuesday afternoon that the body was badly decomposed after about a week in the water and the Office of the State Medical Examiner would have to make the final identification, which could take 24 to 48 hours. State and local authorities and scores of friends have been searching the lake and shore for Eric Langlois, a New Milford man who has been missing since June 11 when he went to the lake to retrieve his mountain bike that he lost the day before. More than 250 people lined the scenic steel bridge over the Housatonic River gorge where it empties into Lake Lillinonah at Lovers Leap State Park and paid tribute to the man whose love for his wife and family, for taking photographs and for making inappropriate jokes had left an indelible impression on all of them.

More than 250 people lined the scenic steel bridge over the Housatonic River gorge where it empties into Lake Lillinonah at Lovers Leap State Park and paid tribute to the man whose love for his wife and family, for taking pictures, and for inappropriate jokes had left an indelible impression on all of them. By Monday, what had been an intensive search of the lake by EnCon Police from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and dive teams and boats from area police and fire departments had been reduced to sweeps of the shore by family members and friends. [...] many people that many of the later arrivals were forced to park along Grove Street outside the park, creating what organizers feared would be an unsafe situation for those who would have to walk back to their vehicles after darkness fell. The gathering, according to organizers Carla Ten Eyck, who manages the Langlois' thriving wedding photography business, and Eileen Straiton, was intended to show support to the family and demonstrate to Langlois children the respect and affection others had for their father. Ten Eyck recalled how when Langlois' mother was dying, other photographers who knew him stepped up and edited the photos for nearly 30 weddings that he had shot so they could be delivered to clients on time.

Members of a State Police gang task force were already in the area of Yaremich Drive in the North End when they received information about an assault weapon in a vehicle, said William Kaempffer, Bridgeport police spokesman. The suspects were charged with criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of an assault weapon and carrying a weapon in a motor vehicle.

Natural gas companies plan major expansion in CT The state's three major natural gas companies have filed expansion plans to provide gas heating to 280,000 new customers in the next decade, increasing their number of customers by more than half. Katie Dykes, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, called the state's move toward natural gas a "medium-term" solution that reduces its dependence on home heating oil as well as provides an economic benefit to residents and businesses. Yankee Gas, Southern Connecticut Gas, and Connecticut Natural Gas Co. -- filed their plans Friday with the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The expansion plans come on the heels of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Comprehensive Energy Strategy, released in February, which said Connecticut needed to expand natural gas service throughout the state. Some in the state criticized Malloy and the DEEP for favoring one energy source over others in devising a comprehensive energy plan. With the three utilities planning to greatly expand natural gas in the state, the two pipelines that supply the state with natural gas -- the Algonquin and the Iroquois pipelines -- are taking notice.

The driver of an oncoming pickup truck swerved at the last minute to avoid a collision, but one of the cars became wedged under the truck. A police spokesman said Monday that traffic officers are engaged in a continual battle to curb speeding and its often-deadly results. The Traffic Division also works with the city's traffic engineer, studying traffic flow and safety concerns. In 2011, 39 percent of male drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were exceeding the speed limit at the time of a fatal crash and 37 percent of those between 21 and 24 years of age. Five days later, a young woman from New Fairfield died when the car in which she was a passenger collided with a pickup truck making a turn on Federal Road.

The program, similar to previous crackdowns on intoxicated operators, will use federal money funneled through the state Department of Transportation to pay overtime costs for police officers who will target distracted drivers, Baker said. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more that 3,300 people were killed and 387,000 were injured nationwide in 2011 as a result of crashes involving a distracted driver. The hospital is working with area police departments by running public service messages about the hazards of distracted driving. Studies have shown that drivers who text while operating at highway speeds travel an average of 100 yards -- the length of a football field -- with their eyes off the road, Begg said.

Boats and dive teams were back in the water Sunday but were still unable to find a photographer who disappeared earlier in the week near Lovers Leap Park. EnCon Police, part of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, continued the search for Eric Langlois, 33, of New Milford, but late Sunday, a DEEP spokesman said the effort was being scaled back. Schain said EnCon Police will continue to make periodic sweeps of the lake and surrounding area on foot and by boat.

Three young men escaped serious injury late Saturday after a three-vehicle collision at Rogers Park left one of the vehicles wedged underneath a pickup truck. Police said the accident occurred about 9:40 p.m. when two, dark-colored Honda Civics, operated by Marco Marin of Montgomery Street and Jorge Marcatoma of Stevens Street, were driving southbound at "a high rate of speed" on Memorial Drive and occupying both lanes of the two-lane road. The pickup driver, Jaime Ramivo Zhunio, attempted an evasive maneuver, but Marin's car hit it and became wedged underneath, police said.

Members of the board of directors, still stunned by the sudden death of the facility's founder and primary benefactor, John Valluzzo, voted Friday to keep the Park Avenue museum open for business through the end of this season, Johnson said. What will happen afterward to the museum, home to the largest private collection of military vehicles and tanks in the Northeast, as well displays and artifacts from every major United States conflict from World War I to the present, has yet to be determined. Valluzzo was shot to death after he failed to drop his gun when ordered to do so by a Ridgefield police officer who responded to a domestic disturbance at Valluzzo's home on Ridgebury Road. Attendance always goes up during the monthly "open turret" days, when visitors, especially children, get the opportunity to step inside many of the armored vehicles. In addition to financing, Valluzzo was closely involved in planning displays and other special projects. Because of his death, an exhibit on atomic warfare, intended to coincide with the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II, had to be shelved, and the museum's long-term financial outlook is uncertain, Johnson said.

Police on Friday charged a Danbury couple with child abuse as the result of an investigation that began when school officials reported that two siblings had sustained what police called "suspicious injuries." Police said the investigation began May 29 after the state Department of Children and Families received a report from a Danbury elementary school.

Some of the charges stem from an incident that occurred seven years ago when the alleged victim was 12, police said. The second incident came to light as the result of an investigation that began when the department's Special Victims Unit received a complaint on Friday, police said.

Boats and dive teams were back in the water Saturday in a recovery effort to find a photographer who disappeared earlier in the week near Lover's Leap Park. EnCon Police, part of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, continued the search for Eric Langlois, 33, of New Milford. EnCon Police patrol boats, along with members of the New Milford Fire and Police Departments, Bridgewater Fire Department, Connecticut State Police, and the Lake Lillinonah Association were on the scene Saturday.

Students at Sandy Hook Elementary School celebrated Flag Day on Friday, the six-month anniversary of the shootings at their school, as staff continued their mission of helping their students look ahead and beyond the tragedy. The school has a moment of silence after the Pledge of Allegiance each day, so while there was not a focus on remembering that event, there was a time for people to reflect on it if they wanted, Cech said. [...] she said, there was recognition that this day represented a milestone. Outside the campus in Monroe that is temporary home to the new Sandy Hook school, the guard at the security gate parked his cruiser facing the street. In Danbury, a bomb threat was called in to the magnet school at about 11:30 a.m., but police knew the caller and deemed it not credible. Officers from the Danbury Police Department went immediately to the Western Connecticut Academy for International Studies, which is on the west side campus of Western Connecticut State University. A police cruiser sat on the road at the bottom of the driveway to Newtown High School and another police sports utility vehicle sat outside the front door of the school in the morning.

On six-month anniversary of Sandy Hook shootings, residents and visitors recall victims, speak against gun violence The voices of singing children echoed the Newtown mantra of "We Choose Love" and inspired some 300 people who gathered Friday night to mark the six-month anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Inside the sanctuary at Newtown Congregational Church, area residents, town and national leaders, and clergy of all faiths gathered for an evening of prayer, song, scripture and verse as they reflected on the power of love to heal. [...] the Rev. Leo McIlrath reiterated a version of the sentiments of First Selectman Pat Llodra when President Barack Obama arrived to comfort a grieving community on Dec. 16: Newtown will not be defined by that terrible day. Upon departure from the church, all were invited to sign a banner for the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes, an act of generosity that the Rev. Matt Crebbins, of Newtown First Congregational Church, said is a way to show Newtown's love and compassion, and determination to "pay it forward." The evening service in the heart of Newtown formed the emotional bookend to the day that started at 9:30 a.m., the moment six months ago that shots first pierced through Sandy Hook Elementary School. In mid-morning, residents solemnly gathered in front of Edmond Town Hall -- leaning on each other for support, eyes red, sometimes crying openly -- to mark this somber anniversary of the tragedy that shook the town, the state, the country and beyond, and changed the debate about gun control, mental health and school security. Throughout the day, area leaders were reading the names of the 6,003 people in the United States who have been killed by guns since the Sandy Hook shootings -- from Topeka and New Orleans, from Los Angeles and Silver Springs, Md. Carlee Soto, sister of slain first-grade teacher Victoria Soto, wiped away a tear as she asked the hundreds gathered, many wearing green the Sandy Hook School color to observe a moment of silence. Gilles Rousseau, father of first-grade teacher Lauren Rousseau, said that six months ago he could have never envisioned becoming a public advocate for any cause.