A man found bleeding profusely from the back of the neck at a North Haven convenience store on Tuesday and reported being robbed was actually drunk at work and made the story up, according to police.
Police responded to the Citgo Convenience store at 490 Washington Avenue at 12:10 a.m. on Feb. 4 after Arsene Ndabian’s wife went to the store because she could not reach him on his cell phone, according to police.
When she arrived at the Citgo, she found her 55-year-old husband bleeding severely from the base of the skull.
In an interview with NBC Connecticut this week, Arsene Ndabian reported that he was stabbed in the neck and back while trying to keep a masked robber away from the register. After that, he said, he lost consciousness.
North Haven detectives have been investigating and determined that the reported robbery and stabbing did not occur.
Investigators processing the crime scene late Monday night found several inconsistencies with the victim’s initial report, police said, and determined the victim fabricated the reported crime.
Officers said he sustained the large puncture wound while intoxicated inside of the store and used information from an actual robbery at the store on Feb. 1 to mask his actions, police said.
Police said they are pursuing criminal charges through the State Attorney’s Office.
NBC Connecticut went to the store, but Ndabian was not there.
Police said they Feb. 1 robbery was legitimate and they are investigating.
At 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, a man with a knife entered the store, jumped over the counter and demanded the store employee give him money from the register, police said. Ndabian was not the employee working during that crime, police said.
The robber grabbed the store’s cash and ran toward the front exit.
While the man was fleeing, there was a brief struggle and the store employee was cut in the hand. The suspect ran to a vehicle parked on Bradley Street and fled north on Washington Avenue.
Anyone with information on the Feb. 1, robbery should call the Investigative Services Division of the North Haven Police Department at 203-239-5321.
