Man sentenced to 5 years for attempted armed robbery
STAMFORD — A Stratford man was sentenced to five years in prison for a 2015 incident in which he threatened a woman and her 4-year-old son with a gun before a cancer awareness walk.
Chris Smith, 49, was sentenced to five years after he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree robbery Tuesday.
Smith, who has 12 prior felony convictions, has been imprisoned since he was arrested following a police chase on Dec. 16, 2015.
Police said Smith had a warrant out for his arrest since October of that year, when he attempted to rob the mother and her toddler at gunpoint.
On Oct. 17, 2015 Smith pointed a gun at the 4-year-old child’s head while demanding valuables from the mother, police said. A bystander who witnessed the threat yelled at Smith, distracting him and allowing the woman to push him away. Smith was caught on video fleeing the scene and later getting on a train headed for Stratford. Stamford police released the video to the public and someone from the community identified Smith, allowing police to draft the warrant.
Months later, Smith was seen driving a large landscaping truck loaded with an equipment-bearing trailer on Stillwater Avenue, police said.
Instead of pulling over for police, Smith engaged police in a car chase that cut through residential backyards. Smith eventually fled the truck on foot but was chased and taken into custody, according to police.
Judge Gary White said Smith will receive credit for the time he has served in prison since the incident.
Once released, Smith will serve five years special parole as a part of the plea deal he accepted. That bargain also called for the additional charges of engaging in a pursuit and interfering with police to be dropped by the state.