STATE POLICE MAKE ARREST IN ARMED ROBBERY

   On July 12, 2011, at approximately 8:11 p.m., State Police Troop I and Prospect Officers responded to Hotchkiss Park in Prospect for a reported Robbery. 

   Troopers and Prospect Officers arrived on scene and obtained information that a male suspect got into a physical altercation at the skate park with a victim from Beacon Falls.  The victim stated that the suspect displayed a knife and demanded the victim’s cash. The victim complied and the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area with an undisclosed amount of cash.  The victim contacted the State Police via 911.  The victim was not injured during this incident.

   Troopers conducted an immediate search of the wooded area around the park and surrounding neighborhoods with assistance of State Police K-9 teams.  A K-9 track for the suspect lead to a residential roadway where information was developed by investigators that led to the identity of the suspect as a Prospect resident.Troopers responded to the Prospect home where the suspect resides. The suspect was located hiding in a closet in the residence. He was taken into custody without incident. Troopers also recovered the stolen cash which was located in the residence.

   The victim positively identified the accused as the person that robbed him at the park with a knife. 

   The accused, a 16-year-old juvenile, was transported to State Police Troop I in Bethany where he was processed and formally charged with: Robbery 1^st, Larceny 2^nd, Reckless Endangerment 1st, Carrying a Dangerous Weapon, Threatening, Breach of Peace 2^nd, and Interfering with a Police Officer.  The accused was held on $100,000 cash bond and transported to New Haven Juvenile Detention. He will be arraigned in Juvenile Court to answer these charges.

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LT. J. Paul Vance