Police Arrest Suspect in Armed Robbery in which Man Allegedly Tried to Stab Clerk

Meriden Police announced Friday night that they had arrested a suspect in that occurred this week – one in which a man allegedly tried to stab a Citgo Gas Station Clerk with a knife.

Detectives arrested John Foster, 21, of 314 Britannia St., on Friday, Sept. 16, and charged him with a Sept. 12 armed robbery at the Victory Market on Springdale Avenue and a Sept. 13 armed robbery at the Citgo Gas Station on Chamberlain Higway, according to Meriden Police Spokesman Leonard Caponigro.

The suspect in each robbery used a knife to threaten clerks, and allegedly moved to stab a clerk in the Citgo robbery before making off with an undisclosed amount of money, police said. The clerk was reportedly unharmed.

Police said tips from the public led to Foster's arrest, after they released video stills of a suspect in the Citgo robbery to Meriden Patch and other local media outlets on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

"Without your assistance, an arrest would not have been made so quickly," said Caponigro in a statement thanking the press.

Police have charged Foster with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of third-degree larceny and two counts of reckless endangerment. Foster has a court date set for Sept. 30, 2011 and is being held on $500,000 bond, according to police. Detectives John Williams and Dean Benoit made the arrest.