Police have arrested a convicted felon accused of robbing a Stamford grocery store at gunpoint and have also charged his alleged accomplice.
Francis Manigault, 41, of New York, has also been implicated in a number of other robberies in the Fairfield County area, police said Wednesday.
According to police, Manigault entered the West Main Grocery Store at 495 West Main Street in Stamford around 10 a.m. Wednesday, pulled out a black handgun and pointed at the clerk.
The employee handed over an undisclosed amount of money and Manigault fled the store, running eastbound on West Main Street. Officers spotted him walking in the area of West Main Street and Virgil Street and followed him northbound onto Virgil Street, according to police.
He threw a loaded handgun onto the sidewalk and was taken into custody. Police said they later determined the handgun had been stolen in South Carolina and that Manigault may be linked to other robberies in Fairfield County.
Police found him with a business card from a rental car agency located in Norwalk, which led them to believe an accomplice may have been driving a car Manigault had rented. Police tracked down the vehicle in Norwalk and arrested the driver, identified as 19-year-old Tajah Dash, of Norwalk.
Manigault was charged with first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, criminal use of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. He was held on $250,000 bond and is due in court Thursday.
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Police said Manigault has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1989 and including charges of larceny, resisting arrest and drug violations in both New York City and South Carolina.
Dash was charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit robbery. Bond was set at $5,000.
