By Phil Helsel
New Haven Register
MILFORD, Conn. — Talk about being in the right place at the right time: A police officer stopped a car for an obstructed license plate Wednesday morning near the Shoreline Motel, only to discover that the driver allegedly had just committed a violent robbery at the gas station next door, police said.
Officer Matt Lima stopped a car driven by Michael Coleman, 32, of 44 Lion Terrace, Bridgeport, just after midnight Tuesday after he saw the car driving erratically and had part of its license plate covered, Officer Vaughan Dumas said.
During the motor vehicle stop, a report came in that someone had just grabbed an employee of Patriot Fuel next door, shoved a pair of scissors to his throat and forced him to open the register, Dumas said.
Lima found the scissors and $300 in the car. The employee was not hurt.
The employee, who was stocking shelves when Coleman allegedly attacked him, identified Coleman as his assailant, police said. Coleman was arraigned on charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and fourth-degree larceny, and was ordered held in lieu of $35,000 bail Wednesday.
His mother, Emma Aklin, began sobbing as soon as her son was led into the courtroom in leg irons.
Coleman has no significant prior criminal history -- only a conviction for an improper license plate -- and she said she is baffled as to why he would commit a violent crime.
“He’s a good guy. I don’t know what happened,” Aklin said. “I don’t know why.”
Public Defender Mike Giannecchini asked for a lower bail by arguing that the clerk wasn’t 100 percent sure that the man police caught was the same man who robbed him, and that Coleman’s being in police custody when he was identified was overly suggestive.
But Superior Court Judge John Cronan didn’t buy it.
“When someone’s approached with scissors at their neck from behind, they might not be able to make a good identification,” Cronan said. “This type of conduct deserves a substantial bond.”
The case will be screened for the Part A docket, where more serious cases are heard. Coleman is scheduled to appear at Superior Court again May 16.
Copyright 2007 New Haven