After three potential robbery victims slammed the door in his face, cops slapped cuffs on this week’s most incompetent bandit — and found a gun he’d labeled with his name and birthday.
Meanwhile, cops are still looking for a more successful robber, a man suspected of knocking over eight stores in the last month.
Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman:
Just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, a man at home on Edgewood Avenue responded to his rear doorbell and found a man outside who threatened to kill him if he didn’t hand over money. The victim shut the door on him and called police.
Minutes later a man at a nearby house on Ellsworth Avenue had a similar experience. He responded to his doorbell, looked out the window and saw a man standing outside. The man pointed a gun at him and demanded money. The victim closed the curtain and called the cops.
Apparently thinking the third time would be the charm, the would-be robber tried a house on Maple Street. A man remodeling the first-floor kitchen answered the door and saw a man fumbling for something at his waistband. Suspecting it was a gun, the victim closed the door.
Meanwhile Officers Carlos Conceicao, Josh Kyle, David Portella and Joseph Staffieri had responded to Edgewood Avenue on the report of the first attempted robbery. Officers Christopher Simon and Garry Hammill spotted a man who matched the perpetrator’s description sitting on the porch of the Maple Street house he’d just tried to rob.
The man took off running when he saw the cops, with Officers Kyle and Conceicao running after him. The man reached into his waistband and turned toward the cops. He pulled out a black handgun and dropped it.
The cops drew their guns and ordered the man to hit the ground. But he continued to flee. When Officer Conceicao tackled him, the 21-year-old suspect, who’s from Westfield, Mass., continued to struggle and reach for his waistband. Police found a second black handgun on him.
The guns turned out to be “Stinger” air guns. One of them had a sticker with the man’s name and date of birth on it.
The victims ID’d the man, and cops arrested him on seven charges, including robbery and brandishing a facsimile firearm.
Robber Caught:
With the help of a passerby, cops caught a robber moments after he mugged someone on Foster Street in East Rock.
Here’s what happened according to Hartman:
At around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, a man got out of his car on Foster Street and was confronted by a man who demanded his money. He handed over his wallet.
Another man, who happened to be sitting in his car nearby, saw the whole thing. He called the mugging victim over and told him to get in his car and call the cops. The witness then followed the mugger to the Shell Gas Station at the corner of Nicoll and Willow streets.
Officers Chuck Kim and Roger Kergaravat responded to the gas station as the mugger was leaving. Seeing them, he fled into the warehouse complex behind the building. Cops cordoned off the area.
Officer Kergaravat saw the mugger “pop out” on Mitchell Drive, two blocks away, and “went after him.” He caught him near Wilbur Cross high school, and got him into handcuffs with the help of Officer Nikki Curry.
The mugger still had the victim’s wallet in his pocket. The victim ID’d him and cops arrested him.
Robber sought:
NHPD
Robbery in progress at Hollywood Liquors at 888 Grand Ave.
Meanwhile cops are investigating eight commercial robberies they suspect are the work of one man. They are:
Dec. 19, 2011, at 220 Grand Ave.
Dec. 26, 2011, at 313 Grand Ave.
Dec. 26, 2011, at 337 Lombard St.
Dec. 30, 2011, at 308 Grand Ave.
Jan. 10, 2012, at 141 Willow St.
Jan. 12, 2012, at 1228 Quinnipiac Ave.
Jan. 21, 2012, at 63 York St.
Jan. 23, 2012, at 888 Grand Ave.
NHPD
Liquor License Suspended
The state Liquor Control Commission announced Wednesday that El Patron Mexican restaurant on Grand Avenue has had its liquor license suspended indefinitely due to a failure to pay unemployment contributions.
Phone Back On At PD
The police department’s non-emergency number is back online after being temporarily out of service due to technical difficulties.
The emergency number — 911 — is still working and should be used for all emergencies.
A Thursday morning city robo-call announced that the police department’s non-emergency number was out of order.
Police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman said the department’s phones were being worked on. He said the phone should be down for only a short time.
An 11:10 a.m. call to the non-emergency number — 946‑6316 — yielded a busy signal.
A 12:40 p.m. phone call reached a woman who said the number was working again, but that other lines at the PD are still out.