Norwich police search for man suspected in Monday stabbing
Waterford — A 24-year-old Preston man is facing charges linked to an armed home invasion at a Waterford home in September where the homeowner was held at gunpoint.
Police said Andrew J. Henault, with a last known address of 153 A Route 12, Preston, was one of at least two men involved in the robbery that occurred in the early-morning hours of Sept. 18. He was charged Thursday with home invasion, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.
Police said the investigation revealed that Henault was one of two men who had entered a home off Oil Mill Road by pulling out an air conditioning unit from a window. A victim told police that both men were wearing masks and he was held at gunpoint on the floor by a man who stated, “I am just here for the money,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit in the case.
The two men left when the second victim, a female, came down the stairs and started screaming,
During the investigation, police learned that one of the victims was dealing marijuana from the home and a halfounce of marijuana in a glass jar was taken during the robbery.
One victim told police that he occasionally sold small amounts of marijuana to Henault and that Henault had requested, by cellphone text, a half-ounce of marijuana the night before the robbery. One of the victims later identified Henault from a photo lineup as one of the perpetrators of the robbery.
Police during their investigation obtained search-andseizure warrants for a phone Henault was using when he requested the marijuana and also for his Facebook page messages. Police traced the phone to an acquaintance of Henault, David Beckwith of Jewett City, who admitted he occasionally let Henault use his phone. Beckwith told police he cut ties with Henault after he suspected he was using heroin again. Beckwith, however, could not explain why his phone would have been used in Waterford on the night before the home invasion, police said.
Henault, during his interview with police, pointed to Beckwith and Tyler R. Kudej of Lisbon as the men involved in the home invasion. He claims he was only traveling in the back seat of their vehicle and dosing off after consuming Klonopin, a controlled substance to treat anxiety.
Henault claims he overheard the two men talking about robbing the victim’s home and later watched the two men leave the vehicle wearing ski masks. He also said one of the men had a .357 revolver. After the robbery, Henault said all three of them smoked the stolen marijuana, police said.
Beckwith and Kudej have not been charged in connection with the home invasion, according to court records.
Henault on Thursday appeared in New London Superior Court, where he was ordered held in lieu of a $150,000 bond. Henault, who has a known history of heroin addiction, is being held on a medical and suicide watch. He is due to appear in court again on March 9.