By John Penney
Norwich Bulletin, Conn.
MONTVILLE, Conn. — A 38-year-old Norwich man charged in a December assault and robbery outside a Montville restaurant told detectives his DNA was dropped at the crime scene by airplane in an effort to frame him.
Gregory Blue, 30 Hamilton Ave., was charged Friday with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and second-degree larceny after an investigation into the Dec. 16 incident in the parking lot of the Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant on Norwich-New London Turnpike.
Police said a 45-year-old man left the restaurant at approximately 10 p.m. and was approached by a man, later identified by police as Blue, who asked for a light, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The man told police Blue pulled what appeared to be a silver-and-black handgun out and demanded “everything you have, or I am going to kill you,” the warrant states.
After passing over $40, Blue ordered the man to give him his cell phone and keys, police said. When Blue lowered his weapon, the man said a “tussle” ensued and he was struck in the head with the pistol.
As the two fell to the ground, the alleged victim said he was able to retrieve the gun after Blue, who claimed to be a police officer, stabbed him with a knife. After failing to fire the weapon, the alleged victim said he was able to overpower his assailant, bending the knife toward Blue.
He said he thought he was able to stab Blue before a foot-chase – with the victim pursuing his assailant – began onto a Route 2A highway on-ramp. The man told police Blue jumped a guard-rail and entered a wooded area.
Police said the man suffered minor cuts and puncture wounds to his finger, chest and back, but refused medical treatment.
The alleged victim said he returned to the restaurant and laid the weapon on a counter – and was subsequently suspected have been taken by an unidentified patron, police said.
The weapon – later determined to be an “air soft gun” - was found approximately two weeks later near a fence in the parking lot of a convenience store near the restaurant.
Blue was later identified as a suspect based on DNA tests and the alleged victim’s description of his assailant, police said.
During a police interview at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center on June 29, Blue – he was charged in April with trying to steal a bicycle in Norwich and stabbing the owner - denied involvement in the crime and suggested police planted DNA evidence at the crime scene.
“Blue continued to allege that a phlebotomist who took his blood years ago dropped his DNA at the scene via airplane,” according to the affidavit.
Blue was arraigned Friday in New London Superior Court and ordered held on a $250,000 bond. He is due next in court on Oct. 30.
Police said Blue has a criminal history that includes convictions for second-degree robbery and first-degree escape.
©2020 Norwich Bulletin, Conn.