Police have arrested a suspect in an assault at a Hartford liquor store and said the man who was arrested admitted to the attacking the victim to rob the store.
The robbery happened at Trinity Package Store, at 219 New Britain Ave. on July 6.
Officers responded to the store at 5:04 p.m. that night and found the victim bleeding profusely. They said he had two large lacerations on his head and was transported to Hartford Hospital for emergency medical care, where he was later listed in stable condition, police said.
Investigators found the homemade weapon -- three metal rods wrapped in a cloth and tied together with a shoelace.
Major crimes detectives took over the investigation and 34-year-old Pawel Onyszczuk, of East Hartford, was identified as a person of interest, police said.
West Hartford police contacted Hartford police on July 9 and told them their person of interest was in custody in connection to a home invasion incident in town.
When Hartford investigators interviewed Onyszczuk, he confessed to his involvement in the assault and provided the detectives with a statement that said he’d hit the victim twice in the head, intending to render him unconscious so he could rob the store, according to police.
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But the victim yelled for help and Onyszczuk ran, fearing that police would be responding, according to a news release from police.
Police obtained a warrant charging Onyszczuk with assault in the first degree and criminal attempted robbery in the first degree. Bond was set at $150,000.
Police said Onyszczuk is incarcerated at the Hartford Correctional Center and he is being held on an accumulative bond of $310,000.
