SHARE

Westport Police Manhunt Tracks Down Bridgeport Man Who Dropped Gun

Updated: WESTPORT, Conn. — A man who dropped a handgun as he ran from officers during a traffic stop Saturday morning was apprehended in a Westport neighborhood after an hourlong manhunt, police said.  

Dahonta Robert-Hilliard

Dahonta Robert-Hilliard

Photo Credit: Westport Police Department
The suspect was found hiding in a yard on Keyster Street, a block from the traffic stop on Bridge St. in Westport.

The suspect was found hiding in a yard on Keyster Street, a block from the traffic stop on Bridge St. in Westport.

Photo Credit: Google Map

The suspect was identified as Dahonta J. Robert-Hilliard, 27, of Bridgeport, police said Saturday afternoon after his arrest. 

Robert-Hilliard was charged with carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit, weapons in a motor vehicle, third-degree burglary, interfering with an officer and criminal possession of a pistol or revolver. 

In the incident began at about 11 a.m. Saturday. Officer Taylor Field stopped a suspicious vehicle on Bridge Street and asked the driver — Robert-Hilliard — to step out, police said. 

Robert-Hilliard then fled on foot, police said. 

Field gave chase and saw the suspect drop a firearm as he ran, police said. 

The officer stopped to secure the firearm, which was near an apartment complex, police said. 

Officers immediately established a perimeter in the area and alerted residents in the neighborhood via the Code Red system to the situation. 

The alert advised residents that officers were searching for a possibly armed suspect in the area and to remain in their homes. 

Police gave a description of the suspect, and residents were asked to contact police if he was spotted, police said. 

A K-9 unit conducted a track, which led officers through backyards of the residential neighborhood, police said. Additional units and K-9 teams from other towns assisted with the search. 

At about noon, officers located Robert-Hilliard in the shed of a backyard of a Keyser Road home, about a block from the traffic stop, police said. 

During his capture, Robert-Hilliard sustained wounds from the K-9, police said, was treated at the hospital for minor injuries. 

"Due to the immediate response, recovery of the firearm and the subsequent capture of the suspect, there is no longer a safety threat to the community," said Jillian Cabana, a Westport police spokesman. 

Robert-Hilliard was additionally charged with the following motor vehicle violations: operating an unregistered motor vehicle, misuse of plates, improper display of marker plate and operating a motor vehicle under suspension.

He was held on $250,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court on Oct. 24. 

The origin of the firearm remains under investigation, police said.

The Westport Police Department thanked the Fairfield and Norwalk Police Departments for their assistance.

to follow Daily Voice Westport and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE