CT man charged in armed robbery at gas station. Police say more charges may be coming
State police have charged a man in an armed robbery at a gas station in Colchester last week.
Daniel Reardon, 35, of Broad Brook was charged Tuesday with one count each of first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace, according to Connecticut State Police.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, troopers from Troop K received a silent panic alarm and a subsequent 911 call from the Gulf gas station at 738 Middletown Road on Friday, just before 9:30 p.m. The clerk told police a man entered the station and asked for cigarettes behind the counter before pulling out a gold pistol and demanding money, the affidavit said.
As the clerk tried removing the money, the suspect asked for the entire register and took the cash out himself before fleeing the area on a bicycle, according to the warrant affidavit.
No injuries were reported.
State police later found an abandoned bike on the grassy shoulder of Route 149 South, just south of West Ridge Drive. Multiple K-9 units were used to search the area, but the suspect could not be located.
State police were able to view surveillance footage from the robbery. A day later, a trooper learned through “additional law enforcement investigative tools” that the suspect in the robbery may have been involved in other “recent criminal incidents” in the area, the affidavit said. Authorities identified a 2011 Ford Ranger as possibly being tied to those incidents and found a nexus between the vehicle and Reardon, according to the warrant affidavit.
The vehicle was found Saturday evening in the parking lot of a CVS on Main Street in Glastonbury, the warrant said. Reardon and a person he was with were detained at the scene.
Reardon was wearing a hat that appeared to be an “exact match” to the one the suspect was wearing during the gas station robbery in Colchester as well as another robbery at an unspecified location, state police wrote in the affidavit.
Reardon was arrested at that time and charged with interfering/resisting and four counts of use of drug paraphernalia. Inside the truck, state police found a gold gun under the front passenger seat, the warrant said.
During their investigation, state police said Reardon refused to speak with investigators.
The person found with him in Glastonbury denied any involvement in the Colchester robbery and told investigators that Reardon had purchased the pistol they found at Tractor Supply Company and that it was actually a broken BB gun, the warrant affidavit said.
The warrant for Reardon’s arrest in the robbery was signed by a judge on Monday.
Following his arrest, Reardon was held on a $150,000 bond and was arraigned in Norwich Superior Court. He remains in custody and is due back in court on March 5.
