Man Pleads Guilty To Armed Robbery In Wethersfield: Feds

WETHERSFIELD, CT — A Meriden man has pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a string of robberies in several towns, including Wethersfield and New Britain, in 2021, according to officials.

Kenneth Michael Strothers, 27, pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to federal robbery charges, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

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 an approximately two-week period, according to officials.

Strothers 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.

“On February 9, 2021, Strothers entered the Valero gas station store at 930 Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield, used a firearm to pistol-whip the store clerk in the head, stole approximately $260 from two cash registers, and fled the scene in a stolen car,” officials wrote in a news release. “The store clerk was hospitalized with a serious head wound.

“On February 10, 2021, Strothers entered Broad Street Pawn at 210 Broad Street in New Britain, used a firearm to pistol-whip a store employee in the head, stole approximately $2,000, and fled the scene with two associates in a stolen truck. Three children of the store owner hid in a bathroom during the robbery.”

Strothers was arrested Feb. 12, 2021, and officials said investigators seized the handgun he used during the robberies. He has been detained in state custody since his arrest.

At sentencing, Strothers faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.

“Under the terms of a binding plea agreement, if accepted by the court, the parties have agreed that an effective sentence of 14 years of imprisonment is appropriate in this case,” officials wrote in the news release.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the New Britain Police Department, the Wethersfield Police Department, the Newington Police Department, the Cromwell Police Department, the West Hartford Police Department, the Meriden Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.