Armed Robbery Suspect Runs Out Of Gas, Gets Arrested: Police

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A man suspected of robbing a gas station at gunpoint was arrested after police say he was asking people for money at a CVS after his U-Haul rental truck ran out of gas and later found at a Cumberland Farms. West Hartford Police originally responded to the Shell Gas Station, located at 195 Prospect Avenue, at about 10:35 p.m. on May 15 on the report of a robbery. Police were told the suspect entered the store and pulled out what appeared to be a black semiautomatic handgun while demanding cash and cigarettes from the clerk.

The suspect fled the store and was last seen heading west on Kane Street. West Hartford Police units “saturated the area” and a K-9 track by the East Hartford K-9 unit was performed with negative results, according to the police report.

Then, at about 11:08 p.m., employees at CVS Pharmacy on New Britain Avenue called to report a suspicious man at the store. Police said the man matched the description of the armed robbery suspect at Shell. The suspect was asking customers at CVS for money after his U-Haul rental truck ran out of gas, according to police.

Police surrounded the area and found the U-Haul unoccupied. The suspect was last seen going eastbound on New Britain Avenue. Minutes later, police located a suspect matching the description in the parking lot of Cumberland Farms on New Park Avenue. Police said the suspect, identified as Harold Zene, was carrying an empty gas can and was also found to be in possession of a BB-gun, an undetermined amount of cash and cigarettes. He was taken into custody without incident, according to police. The U-Haul truck used in the crime was towed from the scene with an empty tank of gas, police said.

Zene, 47, of Bloomfield, was arrested on charges of first-degree robbery, carrying a dangerous weapon, first-degree threatening, sixth-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace. He was held on a $250,000 bond.

Police said Zene is not believed to be connected to the recent string of gas station robberies that have occurred in West Hartford.

Pictured: Harold Zene, 47, of Bloomfield / West Hartford Police Department