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Darien officers were dispatched to the parking lot of Palmer’s Market at 7:22 p.m. June 26 on a report of a man yelling at a female customer, police said. The description matched that of a man who has been involved in similar incidents in the past, police said.
Officers found Robert Houseworth, who fit the description, inside the nearby post office at 246 Heights Road, police said.
Houseworth was tearing up his mail, with additional pieces of mail, some unopened and other torn up, scattered around him, police said. He had also damaged his PO box, police said.
When Houseworth saw the officers, he became irate and began yelling obscenities, police said. He shouted in a nonsensical manner, referring to officers as “New York,” police said.
He went back and forth between approaching the officers aggressively, shouting “What are you going to do about it,” and turning around and putting his hands behind his back, police said.
At one point, Houseworth exposed his genitals, asking “Do you see a zipper or a belt?”
When asked why he was yelling at the woman at Palmer's, Houseworth said, “I just wanted her to be safe.”
Houseworth also said he had been sleeping in the post office vestibule for years, police said.
He was arrested and charged with breach of peace, third-degree criminal mischief and first-degree criminal trespass.
The customer confirmed that Houseworth was the man who had approached her and asked her whether she “knew about the girl who was a downhill skier,” police said.
He then began yelling obscenities, at which point the victim tried to walk away, police said. But Houseworth followed her toward the entrance to Palmers, telling her he would “follow her inside” and see what she had in her purse, police said.
She told police that she then screamed and ran into the store. Houseworth continued to follow her and “lunged” at her, she told police.
Darien police said they have previously warned Houseworth not to enter the Post Office except for official business. Houseworth was held on $500 bond, and transported to court the following morning.
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