Police: Man Broke Up Montville Home Invasion With Sander, Guns

A Montville man stopped an attempted home invasion by two people allegedly looking for drugs in his home with a hand sander and his guns, according to a state police arrest report. 

On April 5, two people — one allegedly a 16-year-old Montville juvenile, the second a 23-year-old Bozrah man — entered a home at 77 Lake Road, looking for drugs, according to police. However the invasion was stopped when the 23-year-old Bozrah man, later identified as Zachary Spurgas, was subdued by the homeowner with a hand sander and then cornered by two guns, according to police. 

The juvenile fled on foot but was found and arrested on Tuesday. Both people were charged with home invasion, first-degree criminal attempt to commit a robbery, first-degree burglary and fourth-degree criminal attempt to commit a larceny, with the juvenile also being charged with criminal use of a firearm and first-degree threatening. 

Spurgas, in a statement to police, said he was forced to invade the home against his will by the 16-year-old juvenile. He also alleged that the juvenile hit him in the head with a gun, which fractured his skull, according to his statement to police. 

The Incident 

On April 5 at around 1:30 a.m., two people entered the home at 77 Lake Pond Road, according to an arrest report written by Connecticut Trooper Dan Peluso. At the time, James and Patrice Marsh – who own the home – and their son, 21-year-old Logan Marsh, were at the house. 

The two alleged invaders entered Logan Marsh’s room, with the alleged juvenile invader wielding a gun, according to police. The juvenile, who had his face covered with a bandana, hit Logan Marsh in the face with the gun, asking him where he kept “Opanas” – a type of drug, according to Peluso’s report. Opanas are a pain reliever similar to morphine, according to drugs.com.  

The two people searched the room but didn’t find any Opanas, according to Peluso’s report. Meanwhile, James Marsh – who was sleeping on a futon in the house – awoke, according a statement he would later give to police. 

James Marsh waited outside Logan Marsh’s room in the home’s basement, according to the report. When Spurgas, who was wearing a ski mask, came out of the room, he tackled him, according to the report. 

In the struggle, James Marsh struck Spurgas with a hand sander several times, subduing him, according to the report. Meanwhile, Patrice Marsh called the police and brought two guns – a handgun and a shotgun – to the basement, according to the report. 

When police arrived, Spurgas was subdued, with James and Patrice Marsh holding the handgun and the shotgun, according to the report. The juvenile had since fled, according to the report. 

When interviewed by police, Spurgas said he picked up the juvenile earlier that morning in Norwich after the juvenile offered him $50 to drive him to Montville, according to the report. While they were driving there, the juvenile pulled out a gun and eventually hit Spurgas in the head with it, according to the report. 

Spurgas said the juvenile wanted to go to the home to find Opanas, according to the report. He said the juvenile threatened him to go inside, so he followed his orders, according to the report. 

Spurgas was arrested in 2012 for breach of peace, third-degree assault, selling drugs, marijuana possession, first-degree failure to appear, possession of narcotics, along with other charges, according to court records. Those cases are still pending. 

Spurgas was arraigned on April 11 and his next court appearance is April 29. The juvenile was arrested on Tuesday and arraigned in Waterford Juvenile Court on Wednesday. Because he is a juvenile, his name and his court records have been sealed.