HARTFORD, Conn. -- Avon police said the suspect in a deadly home invasion in New Britain may be linked to another crime.

Police said Leslie Williams may have broken into a home on Meadow Ridge Road in Avon almost 36 hours before Sunday's home invasion.

"That's a frightening thing to hear," one resident said.

Avon police said the home was burglarized late Friday night. Investigators said a car and several other items were taken.

No one was home at the time, police said.

But residents said the news was unnerving.

"Oh my gosh, I live like right off that street," Jenelle Bourgault said. "It's so scary. I mean my parents and I don't even rarely lock the doors. That's such a scary thought."

Officers investigating the burglary went door-to-door on Tuesday to talk to neighbors.

Avon police said they found the stolen car and are processing it for evidence.

There was no word on why investigators believe Williams may be connected to the burglary.

In Hartford, police officers asked the Legislature to make it easier for them to monitor sex offenders in homeless shelters.

Police said Williams was living in a Hartford shelter before the New Britain home invasion.

"I think when an individual who commits crimes, when they know they're being watched, they have a tendency not to do it," Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts said. "I'm not saying we'll prevent it, but it's going to help us."

Pre-Sentence Investigations Were Waived For Williams

When Williams was sentenced in 1996 and 2000 for burglary and sexual assault, the judges in both cases did not seek a report examining his personal history.

Pre-sentencing investigative reports, known commonly as PSIs, are an exhaustive look into an offender's life.

Written by about 25 to 30 probation officers across the state, they can delve into an offender's drug abuse problems, school records, family history, past offenses, any mental health issues, social history and past success or failure with probation. Interviews with victims and family members are often conducted, giving a judge a fuller picture of an offender about to be sentenced.

Williams served eight years in prison for assaulting a 5-year-old girl and was released four weeks ago. Police said he walked into an unlocked New Britain home Sunday morning intending to steal money and a car.

He encountered two women, allegedly shooting and injuring one and abducting the second, 61-year-old MaryEllen Welsh. Welsh was found dead the next day in a wooded area in Bristol.

After learning of the crime, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she wants such reports to be mandatory in all cases involving sexual offenses and is hoping to pass legislation this session, which ends May 7.

Williams, 31, was arraigned Monday on several charges including attempted murder, kidnapping and burglary. New Britain police Sgt. Darren Pearson said Tuesday that authorities plan to charge Williams with murder and other crimes at his next court appearance on Monday in New Britain Superior Court.

He had faced up to 20 years in prison back when he was sentenced for the sex abuse crimes in 2000. But a plea agreement was reached and Judge Richard Damiani waived a PSI.

Judge Patrick Clifford, chief administrative judge for criminal matters, said while PSIs are very helpful at sentencing, they are not always sought when a plea agreement has been reached. Also, they're typically not requested by judges if an offender faces a suspended sentence for a less serious felony, such as possession of narcotics.

"If I'm satisfied that I have all the information that I need, I don't need a pre-sentencing report," Clifford said. "Its main purpose is for the judge."

State law and the book of rules for Connecticut's courts recommend that a pre-sentencing report on any sentence be done if the prison term is more than a year and if it is a first conviction in the state. But that rule can be waived by a judge if the prosecutor and defense agree, Clifford said.

Clifford said judges typically request PSIs in cases involving most sexual assault felonies and serious felonies.

"It's a wealth of information for the court at sentencing," he said.

Typically, about 2,500 to 2,600 PSIs are written annually. But William H. Carbone, director of the Court Support Services Division of the state Judicial Branch, said he expects that figure will increase by about 50 percent since last summer's deadly home invasion in Cheshire, that left a woman and her two daughters dead. Two paroled burglars have been charged in the crime.

"Since Cheshire, everything has changed and the number has increased dramatically," said Carbone.

He has suggested that PSIs be mandatory for all first-time offenders -- a proposal that has not gained any steam at the state Capitol.

PSIs can be expensive and time-consuming, taking four to eight weeks to complete.

State officials were outraged to learn that the Board of Pardons and Paroles did not have a copy of a pre-sentencing report or know that one existed for one of the suspects in the Cheshire case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, when it decided to grant him parole.

Robert Farr, the parole board's executive director, said the board is now using a new computer link with the Judicial Branch to determine whether a PSI has been done for every parole applicant. Farr estimates that a PSI has been done in about 15 percent of the cases. But after taking into account older PSIs stemming from past crimes, he said the board has a thorough background review for about 45 percent of applicants.

For example, Farr said the board can pick up important red flags about an offender, such as he or she abusing animals as a child or suffering from domestic abuse.

"It's not a guarantee of anything," Farr said. "But more information puts us in the position to do a better evaluation."

State Senator Questions Plea Bargain

On Monday, a key lawmaker on the legislature's judiciary committee questioned why Williams had been released from prison.

Williams was convicted of second-degree sexual assault on March 6, 2000, in a case involving a 5-year-old girl.

After plea-bargaining took place, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

On Monday, Sen. Andrew McDonald said Sunday's home invasion would not have happened if the plea-bargaining had not taken place.

"Had the prosecutor, John Connelly, not reduced the charges, this guy would've still been in prison, and the prosecutor has some explaining to do," he said.

John Connelly, a Waterbury prosecutor, is regarded as one of the toughest in the state.

On Tuesday, Connelly said the decision to plea-bargain was the best he could do at the time.

"The only evidence we had was the little girl's statement," he said.

Connelly said prosecutors asked a clinical psychiatrist to interview the child to see if she could stand up to the rigors of testifying.

"The doctor indicated that in her opinion, she felt that the girl would have a difficult time in testifying," he said.

Connelly said McDonald's statement was "irresponsible."

"The statements that have been made by politicians regarding this case, how it was handled in Waterbury, when they have no idea whatsoever what the facts of the case were, how it was handled, what we had to work with -- I just think those types of comments are irresponsible," he said.

But McDonald said on Tuesday that public officials such as prosecutors must answer for their actions.

"I think that every public official who uses their judgment and exercises their discretion has to be ready, willing and able to articulate why they used that judgment or discretion. Mr. Connelly is no exception," he said.