Groton woman arrested in connection with 2020 Griswold robbery
Sep. 15—State police on Monday arrested a 29-year-old Groton woman in connection with a January 2020 robbery of a man in Griswold, making her the third person charged in the case.
Police said troopers responded to the New London adult probation office and took Brittany Main, of 36 Three Acre Road, into custody on a warrant charging her with second-degree larceny and second-degree robbery. She was released on a $50,000 bond.
According to the affidavit for her arrest warrant, Trooper Ryan Meakem responded to a report on Jan. 15, 2020 from a man who said three people stole $1,900 and his cell phone from him. He identified the three people as Main, Jared Bean and Mark Hatch.
The man told police they picked him up from the AmericInn hotel in Griswold twice earlier that day, and he withdrew $3,000 from the bank the first time. According to the affidavit, he told police that on the second trip, Bean stopped the vehicle and took the cash and phone. The man said he could see a pistol in Bean's waistband but it wasn't brandished, and that the remaining $1,100 was in his hotel room.
The victim said he met Hatch at a Jewett City bar a few weeks prior, the affidavit stated, and Hatch gave him rides because he didn't have a car. He hadn't met the other two previously.
Norwich police arrested Main on drug charges a week later, and the affidavit said Main told Norwich police she had the victim's phone. She then told state police she "never arm robbered anyone" and the man gave the cash and phone to Hatch.
But police said a search of Main's phone showed two texts from Hatch on Jan. 15 that said "He has mad money" and "bring us somewhere I'm robbing him."
According to court records, state police charged Bean with second-degree larceny and second-degree robbery on Aug. 18, 2020. Police arrested Hatch on Sept. 9, 2020, on the same charges.
Each pleaded guilty to the larceny charge and was sentenced last year. Bean was sentenced to four years in jail with execution suspended after two years plus three years of probation, while Hatch was sentenced to a suspended four year prison sentence and two years of probation.
It's unclear why Main, who Norwich police arrested on other charges on Aug. 30, 2020, wasn't picked up on this warrant sooner. A judge signed the warrant for her arrest on June 24, 2020.
A state police spokesperson said they couldn't speculate on Norwich police's interactions with Main but added that the date an affidavit is signed isn't necessarily the same date it's returned to the requesting department and entered into the COLLECT system as an active arrest warrant. Norwich police didn't respond to emails Wednesday.
