Man Sentenced In Armed Robbery Of West Hartford Store

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A Meriden man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a violent armed robbery spree in 2021, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery.

Kenneth Michael Strothers, 27, previously pleaded guilty to federal robbery charges.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the charges stem from an investigation by the FBI and several local police departments into a series of armed robberies that occurred across Connecticut in early 2021.

The investigation found that Strothers committed at least 10 robberies over about two weeks in Meriden, Cromwell, West Hartford, Newington, Wethersfield, and New Britain, according to officials.

Strothers was accused of entering the Valero gas station at 930 Silas Seane Highway on Feb. 9, 2021, in Wethersfield in which he pistol-whipped a store clerk in the head, stole about $260 from two cash registers, and fled in a stolen car, according to prosecutors. The clerk was hospitalized with a head wound.

The next day, prosecutors said Strothers entered Broad Street Pawn at 210 Broad St. in New Britain, pistol-whipped a store employee in the head, stole approximately $2,000, and fled with two accomplices in a stolen truck. Three children of the store owner hid in a bathroom during the robbery.

Strothers had pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery (“Hobbs Act robbery”) and specifically admitted that he robbed businesses in Wethersfield and New Britain, officials said.