A group of conspirators thought they’d gain access to a roomful of “weed and drugs” inside a Shelton home by having a 17-year-old girl incapacitate the homeowner with pills.
Instead, the man was left crumpled in his driveway at 4 a.m., bleeding heavily from several gashes in his head, after a bungled home invasion during which they allegedly beat him with a BB gun.
Panicked by a neighbor, they fled, leaving their 17-year-old accomplice to an angry confrontation with the victim before slinking away to wait for a ride from her dad.
Shelton police learned of the plot in the hours following the early morning assault Sept. 8. The details are described in a 14-page arrest warrant written by Detective John Hubyk.
Two of the suspects in the attempted home invasion, Shawn Craig, 19, and Joseph Cahill, 18, of North Haven, were arraigned Monday at Superior Court in Derby on charges of attempted first-degree robbery, attempted home invasion, and first-degree assault.
Craig was also charged with carrying a dangerous weapon.
Both men were in custody at Bridgeport Correctional Center as of Tuesday.
Two others have already been charged in the case, and police said more arrests are expected.
According to the warrant, Craig, Cahill, 22-year-old Robert Torelli of Branford, and two 17-year-olds — a male and a female — hatched the robbery scheme.
They suspected a Shelton man they knew — the warrant doesn’t delve much into how everyone got to know each other — had a room in his house with marijuana and other drugs.
So they had the 17-year-old girl text message the man asking him to pick her up at an intersection he had never visited in North Haven.
At 1 a.m.
Alone.
Suspicious, he picked up a friend in West Haven to accompany him.
They picked up the girl, who said she wanted to talk to the Shelton man alone.
Unbeknownst to him, his attackers were following them, first as he dropped off his friend in West Haven, then as he drove the girl back to Shelton.
The plan, according to police — the girl would get the man intoxicated on pills, unlock the door, then text the others saying the coast was clear for the robbery.
But when they approached the house after getting the text message, they spotted their target outside his house.
The man recognized Craig, who allegedly had a metal BB gun that looked like a Colt .45 handgun.
“Help, help, help,” the victim yelled, before the men punched, kicked, and beat him on the head with the butt of the weapon.
One of the men thought he saw a neighbor, so they fled, their clothes covered with blood.
Police responded, and EMS eventually brought the man to the Griffin Hospital ER.
In the warrant, Hubyk catalogued the man’s injuries: a 3‑cm laceration to the back of the head, a 6‑cm cut on the top, and smaller cuts along the forehead and left side.
Suspects Arraigned
Craig and Cahill were arrested by Shelton police Friday and arraigned at Superior Court in Derby Monday.
A bail commissioner said Craig faces probation violation charges in cases connected to 2014 trespassing and larceny convictions from North Haven and Hamden.
Craig’s lawyer, Daniel Burns, said his client was in the care of his mother, who is his conservator.
“He’s been dealing with mental health issues all his life,” Burns said.
Cahill faces charges in four pending cases out of North Haven and Milford ranging from second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor to trespassing, assault, and breach of peace.
Judge Peter Brown set bond for both men in the Shelton case at $150,000 and continued the matters to Oct. 13, when they will appear at Superior Court in Milford.
Another suspect charged in the case, 22-year-old Robert Torelli of Branford, was charged Monday with attempted first-degree robbery, attempted home invasion, and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
The 17-year-old female juvenile has been charged with attempted first-degree robbery, attempted home invasion, and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
