Orbegozo allegedly took his ex-girlfriend, who also is a Bridgeport police officer, to a secluded wooded area in Ansonia with plans of killing her, then asked her to turn the gun on himself, Lawlor said.

“He attacked her in a planned and methodical way. ... Luckily for him and her, it didn’t end as he originally planned,” Lawlor said.

These new details emerged as Orbegozo’s defense attorney argued unsuccessfully at Superior Court in Milford for his client’s $500,000 bail to be lowered to an amount that he could pay.

Orbegozo has been held since his arrest June 4.

Orbegozo, 32, of Naugatuck is charged with second-degree assault with a firearm and second-degree kidnapping with a firearm.

“He’s not just facing serious charges, he’s facing a serious period of incarceration, a minimum four years in prison,” Lawlor said. “There’s no way around that, the charges don’t change.”

Lawlor said the victim wrote a letter to the court urging prosecutors to continue with the case and not to lower bail.

“The victim is terrified, and rightfully so,” Lawlor said. “His (Orbegozo’s) actions show he’s a continued threat to this victim. ... She should be able to feel safe. Bond should remain the same.”

Naugatuck police previously arrested Orbegozo in April in a domestic violence incident involving the same woman, whose name hasn’t been released. He was charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree unlawful restraint, according to Lawlor and Naugatuck police. The case was nolled in court May 13, Naugatuck police said.

A protective order was issued at the time of that arrest, but was vacated at the disposition of the case.

Orbegozo notified Naugatuck police of that incident and drove his victim to the hospital after striking her on the head, badly cutting her, according to police and his defense attorney.

His defense attorney, John R. Gulash, said at the time of the alleged kidnapping there was “a huge concern whether this gentleman could do himself harm.”

Orbegozo told a psychiatrist following his kidnapping arrest that he “implored the victim to kill him, to put him out of his misery,” Gulash said.

Gulash said Orbegozo was suffering from “growing depression that became overwhelming.”

Since his arrest however, he has regained his composure, Gulash said.

Gulash asked Superior Court Judge John Ronan to lower Orbegozo’s bail and impose several stringent conditions, including that Orbegozo be released into his brother’s supervision only after he completed in-patient treatment at a psychiatric hospital.

A report done by a mutually agreed-upon doctor concluded that Orbegozo would “benefit from in-patient treatment that could only be provided at a psychiatric hospital,” Gulash said.

Ronan refused to lower bail, stating: “The facts are more than disturbing.”

“It’s a terrible situation, but protecting her (the victim) came first,” Lawlor said.

Orbegozo is on administrative leave from the Bridgeport Police Department.

James Tinley can be reached at jtinley@nhregister.com or 401-3530.

©New Haven Register 2008