Conn. state trooper charged with stealing cash, jewlery from victim of fatal crash

(CBS) HARTFORD, Conn. - A Connecticut state trooper accused of stealing $3,000 in cash and jewelry from the victim of a deadly motorcycle accident is free on $5,000 bond, CBS New York reports.

Trooper Aaron Huntsman, 43, of Middletown, is charged with two counts of third-degree larceny, interfering with police and tampering with evidence, according to the Harford Courant.

Investigators said Huntsman responded to a fatal motorcycle accident on Route 15 in Fairfield on Sept. 22.

John Scalesse, 49, of Orange was killed in the wreck.

The victim's family told police some of Scalesse's personal belongings including cash, jewelry and clothing were missing. They later found the clothing at the hospital, but the other items were still unaccounted for, the Hartford Courant says.

State police conducted an investigation and found the jewelry, which they determined had not been logged into evidence by the trooper who led the investigation, police said.

A large amount of cash was also found in Huntsman's police cruiser, authorities said.

Huntsman, an 18-year veteran of the state police and the former vice president of the state police union, resigned from the force when the allegations came to light, the Hartford Courant reports.

Huntsman is scheduled to be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior court on Dec. 10.