Plea Entered In 2018 Hartford County Carjacking/Robbery Case

HARTFORD COUNTY, CT — A Hartford man has entered a plea in a two-year-old carjacking case that also involved several subsequent robberies at several Hartford County locations.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Arno Smith, 57, of Hartford, entered a guilty plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to a federal robbery offense connected to the carjacking.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at about 11 p.m. on July 26, 2018, Smith approached a woman who was sitting in her 2006 Honda in a Hartford parking lot and pressed what the woman believed to be a gun against her neck.

Smith then grabbed her purse and the woman exited the car, case records show.

Smith then pointed the weapon at the woman, told her to walk away, and then drove away, according to case records.

After the robbery, Smith attempted to use the woman's credit card at two locations in Bristol, Durham said.

Durham said the investigation also revealed that Smith robbed several area businesses during the 2018 spree:

• The Price Chopper supermarket at 121 Farmington Ave. in Bristol on July 27
• The Price Chopper supermarket at 410 Queen St. in Southington on Sept. 4
• The U-Haul Moving and Storage facility at 755 Capitol Avenue in Hartford on Sept. 5
• The Home Depot at 55 Granby St. in Bloomfield on Sept. 15
• The Lowe's home improvement store at 31 Buckland Hills Drive in South Windsor on September 16
• The Days Inn at 185 Ella Grasso Turnpike in Windsor Locks on Sept. 18,
• The U-Haul Moving and Storage business at 3197 Main St. in Hartford on Sept. 19

Smith was arrested on state charges on Sept. 20, 2018. He was sitting in the victim's car at the time of his arrest, Durham said.

Smith pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery, an offense that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date is not scheduled. Smith has been detained since his arrest.