Another Home Invasion in CT, and this one closer to where I grew up, SCARY!! What right do these people have to think they can do this? I am glad justice has been served, and that CT, now has a "Law" on the books against home invasion. I am so upset and appalled by this, where do you feel safe anymore?


'Sean Dowden grew up on the Gold Star Highway in Groton, living with his grandparents until he was 8 or 9 years old.

A decade later, police say, he returned to the neighborhood and robbed and killed the 94-year-old man who lived next door.

Then he allegedly stole the victim's car, which eventually led police to the crime scene.

Dowden, 20, of Groton, told town police in a videotaped confession that he had planned a robbery ahead of time and on Monday had specifically targeted Charles Lovendosky, of 400 Gold Star Highway, as his victim, according to court officials.

The cause of death is unknown, though Dowden allegedly entered the home armed with an unloaded handgun and a scalpel. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is expected to perform an autopsy today.

A burly, dark-haired man with a mustache and goatee, Dowden appeared in New London Superior Court Tuesday in baggy jeans and a black and white T-shirt. He had been held overnight on a $2 million bond.

Dowden had been released from prison in January after serving a two-year sentence for stealing a car, according to court records. He had served a “flat” prison sentence and was not on probation or parole.

Judge Kevin P. McMahon ordered a police report of the incident sealed for two weeks but recited some of its contents.

“He prepped for this,” the judge said. “He knew who the victim was going to be. He specifically chose him and (in the confession) he describes what was going to happen.”

Prosecutor Peter A. McShane asked the judge to impose a $5 million bond, saying the case contains “the most egregious facts I've seen in some time.”

“You'd have to live in a cave ... to not know home invasion is not going to be tolerated in this state,” McShane said.

The judge ordered Dowden held on a $500,000 cash bond and continued his case to April 28.

Dowden is charged with murder, felony murder and a long list of other crimes that could earn him a prison sentence of more than 100 years. He also is thought to be the third Connecticut defendant charged with home invasion under a new state law that took effect March 1.

The General Assembly enacted the law in response to the brutal murders of three family members in Cheshire during a home invasion last summer. Home invasion carries a minimum sentence of 10 years.

A spokeswoman for the judicial branch said that as of April 12, two defendants in the Litchfield judicial district had been charged with home invasion.

Public defender Jennifer Nowak had asked the judge to keep the police report sealed because, she said, making it public could prejudice potential jurors against Dowden.

McMahon said he was sealing the file temporarily, because to release it “would not only put this case in jeopardy, it would put his life in jeopardy.”

Other inmates of the state Department of Correction have expressed anger toward those accused in home invasions because last year's high-profile crimes resulted in a temporary ban on parole and sparked talk of other tough reforms.

The other charges against Dowden include first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, criminal use of a firearm, first-degree larceny, possession of crack cocaine, possession of crack cocaine within 1,500 feet of a school, public housing or day-care facility, possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana within 1,500 feet of a school, public housing or day-care facility, driving with a suspended license and engaging an officer in pursuit.

Dowden's girlfriend, Star Smith, said police arrested Dowden at her house on Central Avenue Monday. Smith said she was unaware of the crime that had allegedly taken place and could not provide police with much information though they detained her for questioning and searched her home.

Smith, accompanied by a few friends of Dowden, waited several hours for him to appear in court. She said her boyfriend is “a good guy” who needs a mental-health evaluation.

Dowden had once lived next door to the man he is accused of killing. Theresa Bonn, his grandmother, said Tuesday she raised him until he was 8 or 9 in her home at 406 Gold Star Highway.

“I'm terribly disappointed,” Bonn said. “I have no idea what happened. He was a sweet child when he was with us. I don't think he knew Charlie. He never had contact with him.”

Before she knew her grandson was involved, Bonn said, she had noticed Monday that Lovendosky's white Cadillac was missing from his driveway. That same day a Groton police officer tried to stop a car that was operating erratically in the area of Midway Oval, but the vehicle eluded police.

The car was later located — parked and unoccupied in the Poquonnock Bridge community — and the subsequent investigation led police to 400 Gold Star Highway, where Lovendosky's body was found. The investigation then took officers to Central Avenue, where they encountered Dowden, who they believed had been driving the car earlier.

Bonn said she raised Dowden starting soon after his birth because his mother — her daughter, Caroline Demontigny — was in prison at the time. She said Dowden's father, Thomas, also spent time in jail.

Bonn said her grandson left to live with his mother in New London when he was 8 or 9 years old and attended the Jennings School and Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School. He never completed high school, she said.

“This is shocking,” Bonn said. “We never had any problem with Charlie. I will miss him terribly. We really felt safe with him as our neighbor.”

Sean Dowden was released from prison Jan. 3 after serving a nearly two-year sentence for first-degree larceny and engaging police in pursuit. In January 2006 he led police on a chase in a stolen car that ended when he crashed the vehicle into a garage.

In that case, police began following Dowden after he committed several motor vehicle violations in the area of Williams and Manwaring streets in New London.

Dowden traveled at high speed through the city and onto Interstate 95. He left the highway at Exit 88, where members of the Groton town police joined the chase. He was captured when he crashed into a garage on West Shore Avenue, damaging the building, police said.

Officers found a knife in the car, police said.

Lovendosky's family members could not be reached to comment Tuesday. Bonn said Lovendosky was a proud and private man whose longtime companion, Violette Littlefield, died last December.

Bonn, who was Lovendosky's neighbor for more than 15 years, said he was bothered by arthritis and other ailments and had stopped cooking for himself. She said he took many of his meals at nearby restaurants.

Bonn said she and her husband were glad to see Lovendosky coming and going because they would have been uncomfortable knocking on his door to check on him for fear of invading his privacy.

She said police told her Lovendosky had become weak and frail. She said his efforts to maintain his dignity included using a broom as a cane.

“I saw him using it to walk,” she said. “He was very proud, you know? But it was hard for him to walk to get his mail, so he used the broom. When he would see me he would start sweeping, pretending. He didn't want people to see him.”