Raymond Clark III Was Watched For Days

Raymond Clark III, the man charged in the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le , was under constant surveillance since last Saturday, a day before Le's body was found in a campus laboratory basement.

The New Haven Independent reports that police chief James Lewis assigned Lt. John Velleca, head of New Haven police's narcotics unit, to stake out Clark when it became clear that the missing persons case was evolving into a criminal case. Lewis said he chose the narcotics unit to follow Clark because they had the expertise to be able to track someone at all hours of the day.

On Sunday, when Le's body was found, Velleca said Clark was at his family's home in Cromwell, Conn., and it appeared to be "life as usual." Clark played softball in the afternoon at a park, visited relatives in Higganum and spent time at the Hebron Fair. He then returned to his family's home in Cromwell.

On Monday Velleca told the Independent, "He became a stronger suspect. We switched to overt surveillance." Detectives would deliberately walk in front of the house and make their badges visible. Velleca said their hope was that Clark would initiate a conversation himself, but Clark never spoke to them.

From that point on, Clark suspended his usual activities and would drive straight from his apartment in Middletown to his family's home in Cromwell.

On a search warrant, investigators searched Clark's apartment on Tuesday for physical evidence and collected DNA samples. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Clark checked into a Super 8 hotel in Cromwell where at 8 a.m. on Thursday, he was arrested.

Clark's bail has been set at $3 million and his next court date is Oct. 6.

More On the Annie Le Case

• Annie Le Case: Botched Investigation?
• Raymond Clark Released from Custody
• Cops Raid Home of 'Person of Interest' in Yale Murder
• Missing Yale Student Wrote on Safety