Man charged with Windsor Locks convenience store robbery, 3 others

Alex Wood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read
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Oct. 3—A West Haven man is accused of robbing a Windsor Locks convenience store at gunpoint on Jan. 28, one of four robberies he is accused of committing around the state in three days in January.

ROBBERY CHARGES

DEFENDANT: Jeremy Marotti, 41, of West Haven

MAJOR CHARGES: First-degree robbery in Windsor Locks, Cromwell, and Cheshire, second-degree robbery in Berlin, third-degree burglary in Wallingford

STATUS: Held on $611,000 bond

Jeremy Marotti, 41, admitted involvement in at least two of the robberies in police interviews, according to an affidavit by Windsor Locks police Detective Daniel Bontempo.

Marotti is being held in lieu of $611,000 bond in the robberies and other crimes, online records show.

He repeatedly said he didn't remember the robbery at the Bradley Mini Mart at 496 Spring St. in Windsor Locks, which was reported to police at 6:22 p.m. Jan. 28, although he maintained that no money was taken from the convenience store, the detective reported.

Marotti acknowledged that he thought he remembered an incident minutes earlier at the Dunkin' Donuts on Main Street, not far from the Spring Street intersection, according to the detective. In that incident, the clerk refused to give the would-be thief any money and Marotti is facing only misdemeanor counts of attempted sixth-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace.

The detective also reported the following:

In the Dunkin' Donuts incident, the clerk didn't report seeing a gun but did report that the would-be thief had what she thought was a TV remote control, adding that he threatened to "set it off."

In the Bradley Mart incident, the clerk reported that the robber briefly brandished a black gun, possibly a .40-caliber, in his right hand and said, "Sorry to tell you, it's a robbery." The clerk said the robber requested all $5, $10, and $20 bills, which the clerk handed over.

Cromwell police charged Marotti with a robbery in their town two days after the Windsor Locks crimes, and his vehicle matched the description of the one believed to have been used in the Windsor Locks incidents, according to the detective.

The Cromwell arrest led to a series of interviews with Marotti by officers from towns where robberies had occurred.

Marotti told police that he had met someone named Jose in Hartford who had the idea to hit the place in Cromwell, the detective reported. He told police that Jose said it was easy but sent Marotti in.

As to the Windsor Locks incident, Marotti said at first that he didn't remember being in town the day of the robbery, adding that he had let Jose use his car, the detective reported. But he added that Marotti refused to give up Jose's cellphone number and got upset while being questioned about him, saying he didn't know Jose's last name or even whether Jose was his real name.

Cromwell police didn't believe Jose existed, according to Bontempo.

When he saw Marotti's car at the Cromwell police station, the detective added, the rear seat was filled almost to the roof and the front passenger seat was pulled all the way forward and covered with junk. It would have been difficult for passengers to sit in the car, he wrote.

No gun was found in Marotti's car, but clothing similar to that worn in the robberies was found in the car, along with TV remote controls, according to the detective.

In the Bradley Mini-Mart robbery, Marotti is charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree threatening, and sixth-degree larceny, Hartford Superior Court records show.

He is also charged with first-degree robbery in incidents in Cromwell and Cheshire while he is facing a second-degree robbery charge in a Berlin incident and a third-degree burglary charge in an incident in Wallingford, online records show.

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