Ariela Lopez, Contributing Photographer

An unhoused New Havener deposited three empty metal canisters near municipal buildings in late August. Now, he’s been in jail for three weeks as the state pursues felony charges against him.

Robert Cardone Jr., 22, frequently exchanges recyclable bottles and cans at the Whalley Avenue Stop & Shop for cash, according to the police report compiled on his arrest. While picking up cans downtown on Aug. 30, he found the three metal canisters and decided to throw them away after determining they would not be useful to him. A City Hall employee spotted the canisters and alerted the police, setting off a bomb scare in which City Hall and the municipal office building at 200 Orange St. were evacuated. Cardone was arrested on three counts of breach of peace in the first degree and two misdemeanor charges, though the bomb threat allegations were dismissed on the day of his arrest.

Hours before Cardone’s scheduled hearing at the New Haven Superior Court on Thursday morning, members of the local Unhoused Activist Community Team — or UACT — gathered on the courthouse steps. Protesting Cardone’s custody, the UACT members took to bullhorns and signs to voice out their concerns.

“In order for the city to save face, they’ve got this kid sitting in jail,” said Suki Godek, who participated in the courthouse protest. “He’s been sitting in there when everyone knows it was a mistake.”

Cardone has been held at the New Haven Correctional Center on Whalley Avenue since his arrest because he has not been able to afford the $25,000 bond set by the state for his release. Following his hearing, this bond has not been lowered, and no plea has been made in his favor.

When questioned by officers, Cardone claimed that he did not intend to cause a disturbance by discarding the canisters, according to the police report compiled by New Haven Police Officer Jonathan Faya-Sanchez.

The New Haven Police Department is currently in possession of the three canisters, which they collected on the scene.

Cardone was arrested on three counts of breach of peace in the first degree — which NHPD Communications Officer Christian Bruckhart described as a “fairly rare charge” compared to the more common charge of breach of peace in the second degree.

“Breach of peace in the second degree is like your catch-all for someone being a jerk,” Bruckhart said. “Breach in the first specifically covers planting potential explosives.”

Connecticut General Statute states that an individual may be charged with breach of peace in the first degree — a Class D felony — if they place a “nonfunctional imitation of an explosive” in a public place with the intent to “cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm.”

Even though the canisters were determined to be non-explosive, the judge can still find Cardone guilty of breach of peace if the prosecutor successfully argues that he intended to cause alarm through a threat.

Bruckhart explained that the three breach of peace counts pertained to each of the three canisters identified as potential bombs. Cardone was also charged with one count of trespassing in the first degree and one count of criminal mischief in the third degree.

The UACT protesters’ signs called on the state prosecutor to drop the charges against Cardone, and urged that “collecting cans is not a crime.” The advocates’ message expressed solidarity with Cardone and highlighted their personal connections to him.

“I would say that even though he’s homeless, we’re neighbors,” UACT member Roosevelt Watkins told the News during the protest.

Connecting Cardone’s detention to a larger “criminalization” of homelessness around the city, Godek — a resident of the Rosette Neighborhood Village — emphasized that the circumstances surrounding the arrest suggest a bias toward the unhoused.

The original caller to the police identified Cardone as wearing a black T-shirt and black backpack, according to the police report. When an officer detained Cardone, they described him as wearing a black “wife beater.”

“It’s not just a stigma around the unhoused but it’s actually a prejudice that some people may have,” Godek told the News. Cardone was an “easy target because he was wearing a wife beater and a backpack.”

If these charges are pursued, Cardone will not only receive jail time, but he will attain a criminal record, which Godek believes will impede his chances of receiving future housing.

Cardone was not present during the Thursday hearing. Fressia Waldron, the public defender who represented Cardone in court on Thursday, told the judge at the hearing that Cardone had not been transported to the courthouse from the jail.

Waldron did not respond to the News’ requests for comment.

“The police department should issue an apology and compensate him for the fact that he’s been in jail,” Godek said. “This could destroy the young man’s life.”

Cardone will next appear in court on Monday. He has yet to enter a plea.