Tolland Man Charged With Taking Father's Gun, Violating Probation

A Tolland man is being held at the Hartford Correctional Center after violating his probation and spinning a tale that alleged his kidnapping and theft of his father's gun to try to avoid his re-arrest and angering his father.

Andre D. Linton, 20, of Tolland was arrested and charged by state police on April 2 with violation of probation and stealing a firearm. He is being held in lieu of a $550,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear next in Rockville Superior Court on April 18.

According to court documents, Linton took his father's loaded revolver without permission from his parents' house before driving to Hartford to buy marijuana. At the time, Linton was on probation after being convicted in January 2012 for having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a juvenile female and was not supposed to leave his house without permission from his probation officer. 

According to court documents, Linton told police that he took the gun because he had had a falling out with one of the men who lived at the house where he was going to buy the weed. Once he arrived at the home, he told police that he believed the situation was OK so he entered the residence, bought enough marijuana to roll a joint, which he intended to smoke before leaving. 

"All of a sudden things went bad and a bunch of guys grabbed me and forced me to the ground," Linton wrote in a sworn statement to police about the incident. 

Linton told police that the men held a knife to his leg, searched him and found the gun tucked under his T-shirt. They took the gun, saying that Linton "owed them," according to a warrant for Linton's arrest. 

Scared that he was going to get in trouble for taking his father's gun, Linton found a Hartford police officer and said that he had been robbed, adding that the men had taken the gun and forced him to go to Hartford, according to court documents.

Linton later told police that he had fabricated the tale and apologized for given a false statement, saying that he knew he messed up and that he didn't want his father to be angry with him, according to court documents. 

In addition to the charges by state police, Linton was being held on charges brought by Hartford Police for carrying a pistol without a permit, having weapons in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of a firearm, larceny by possession and illegal transfer of a firearm. 

Hartford police were able to regain possession of the stolen weapon, according to court documents.