Willimantic police have arrested a man suspected of robbing two women and prompting a SWAT situation at a home on Gem Drive earlier in the week.
Police arrested Joshua Omar Sauri, 29, at 12:07 a.m. on Wednesday after obtaining an arrest warrant around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. An officer from a police K-9 unit found him hiding between buildings on Cameo Drive and took him into custody.
Sauri is accused of robbing two women at gunpoint on Gem Drive on Sunday night, then prompting an hours-long standoff and home evacuations from Sunday night into Monday.
Officers chased Sauri to his relatives' house at 45 Gem Drive and saw him run inside, according to police, who believed Sauri had barricaded himself there.
Later, after making contact with Sauri and then searching the home, police discovered he wasn't there, but found a gun in the home.
Neither robbery victim was hurt, but police said Sauri threatened them and stole cash from one of the victims.
"The members of the Willimantic Police Department did an outstanding job in investigating and apprehending Joshua Sauri. The community members can rest comfortably knowing that Sauri is in police custody," Willimantic Police Sgt. Alex Coriaty said.
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Police charged Sauri with first-degree robbery and held him in custody on a $250,000 police-set bond.
He is due in Danielson Superior Court on Wednesday morning.
