Doughnut shop, gas station robbery suspect arraigned

TORRINGTON — A Waterbury man charged last month in connection with the New Year’s Day robberies of a New Hartford Dunkin’ Donuts and a Litchfield gas station was arraigned last week.

Jeffrey Stokarski, 43, of 115 Wedgewood Drive, has been charged with firstdegree robbery, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree threatening and fourth-degree larceny in connection with the Litchfield robbery, according to court records.

He was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree threatening and sixth-degree larceny in connection with the New Hartford matter on Feb. 22.

In the Litchfield-related affidavit, state police Trooper Joseph Meehan said he was dispatched to the Citgo gas station at 199 West St. on the evening of Jan. 1. According to the affidavit, Meehan spoke with the person who was manning the store during the alleged incident.

The person told Meehan a white man dressed in black entered the store after closing time. The man placed a few items on the counter and asked him about a lighter, at which time the clerk rang up the total and said how much it cost.

“At this time, the male also pulled out a knife and held within inches of my chest. The male then told me to open the register... then told me to give him all the money,” the clerk said in a sworn written statement, according to the affidavit.

The clerk said the man held the knife close to his chest while he put the money from the register into a bag. The man then left the store. Surveillance footage confirmed the clerk’s story, according to the report. $2,084 was taken from the store, police said.

Other state troopers focused on the New Hartford incident, in which Stokarski allegedly robbed the Dunkin’ Donuts at 495 Town Hill Road.

Troop B put out an advisory bulletin, noting the two incidents and sharing an image of the suspect from the gas station surveillance footage.

Southington Detective Karen Apicella responded. She notified Detective Robert Hazen, who wrote the other affidavit, that a similar looking person had recently robbed a gas station in her community and that she had received an anonymous tip identifying the culprit as Stokarski.

Stokarski confessed to robbing the Litchfield gas station when interviewed about it at the New Haven Correctional Center, according to the report. He identified himself in the image.

In a sworn written statement, he said he had committed two robberies in the same evening after traveling to the area with a woman and her boyfriend, according to the affidavit. He said they used the proceeds from the robbery to get high, according to the affidavit.

Judge Paul A. Matasavage set Stokarski’s bail at $100,000 cash or surety Friday, according to court records. The case was transferred to Part A proceedings, where more serious cases are heard, and Stokarski was scheduled to appear in court again April 18.