Robber Offered Clerk Half the Cash: Cops

Connecticut police have arrested a Moosup man accused of robbing one Xtra-Mart and trying to rob another by offering the clerk half the cash in the register.

State troopers responded to a report of an attempted robbery at the Xtra-Mart at 439 Hartford Turnpike in Killingly at 8:25 p.m. on Monday and spoke with the clerk.

She told officers that the robber ordered her to empty the register and said he would give her half, according to a news release from police. Instead, she told the man to leave and threatened to set off the alarm.

It worked and the man left, heading south toward Railroad Avenue.

At 9:41 p.m., troopers received a report of a robbery at an Xtra-Mart five miles away, at 19 Putnam Road in Pomfret.

The robber had implied he had a gun and took money from the register, according to police.
The description of the man indicated he was the same person who attempted to rob the Killingly store, police said – 25 to 30 years old, wearing a tan Carhartt jacket and black winter hat.

Troopers started looking for the man in Pomfret and found someone matching the description on Woodstock Road.

Police identified Ernest Lamiotte, 27, of Potvin Street in Moosup, as the suspect through surveillance video from the Pomfret store. A State Police K9 was brought in and police recovered money stolen from the store.

Lamiotte was arrested, held on $10,000 for the attempted robbery charge in Killingly and $50,000 for the robbery charge in the Pomfret case.

He is due in court today.

According to court records, Lamiotte has a record of prior arrests. In 2013, he was convicted for engaging police in a pursuit, reckless driving and driving under the influence.

In 2008, he was convicted on a third-degree larceny charge as well as driving under the influence.

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