South Windsor Man Charged in Vernon Robbery Attempt

VERNON, CT - An alert resident tipped off police to a suspicious man in her Vernon neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, leading to the arrest of a suspect in an attempted robbery.

Jason Rivera, 32, of 493 Griffin Road, South Windsor, was charged with first-degree robbery, criminal attempt to possess narcotics and interfering with police. He is being held in lieu of bond and will be arraigned Thursday in Rockville Superior Court.

In a written account of the incident, Det. James Grady said around 1:42 p.m., Vernon police received a 911 call from employees at the VCA Animal Hospital of Vernon, located at 155 Talcottville Road (Route 83), who reported a male entered their business dressed in black, wearing a black ski mask, and holding an object at them they believed to be a gun, demanding pain medicine. The caller reported after they told him they didn’t have any, he fled the business toward Pleasantview Drive.

Moments later, police received a second 911 call from a resident on Pleasantview Drive, who observed a male dressed in black running through yards. Believing the male had just done something, she reported what she saw to the police as she followed him in her vehicle and relayed the suspect’s location to the police, Grady said.

The suspect fled into woods and ran in a northerly direction along the Hockanum River. Numerous Vernon police personnel arrived and began pursuing the suspect on foot, and a perimeter was set up to contain him, Grady said.

Sgt. Barry Foster located the suspect, later identified as Rivera, hiding in a field along the wood line, approximately a half mile from where the incident began, Grady said.

A Manchester police K9 unit arrived on scene to assist with the recovery of any discarded evidence. Manchester Police K9 Officer Kaczerski and his work dog, K9 Drago, located a shirt and ski hat Rivera had discarded in the woods as he fled from police, Grady said.

Investigation revealed Rivera was not armed with a handgun, but covered a Wii video remote controller in the sleeve of his black sweatshirt to imply he was concealing a handgun, according to Grady.

Photo courtesy of Vernon Police Department