Norwich — A local man was arrested on multiple charges early Tuesday in connection with an armed robbery late Monday at the Sam's Food Mart, 275 Washington St., police said.

Justino Serrano, Jr., 46, of 3 Boswell Ave. was charged at 3 a.m. Tuesday with first-degree robbery, fifth-degree larceny, criminal use of a firearm and first-degree threatening.

He initially was held on a $100,000 bond, but was arraigned Tuesday and released on a promise to appear in court.

Police said they were dispatched to the food mart at 10:15 p.m. Monday for a report of an armed robbery. Officer Kevin Wilbur wrote in the arrest warrant affidavit that he and two other officers responded.

The unidentified store clerk told police she was in the back room preparing to close the store when she heard a male voice call “hello.”

She returned to the front counter and saw a man with a gun near his waistline and he allegedly said: “I have a gun, give me the money fast.”

She said she opened the register and the man reached over and stole the cash. He allegedly told her as he ran out of the store not to call police “or I'll shoot you in the head.”

The officers reviewed video tape from the store and identified the suspect as Serrano from “prior police contact.”

Four officers went to his apartment and initially were told by his girlfriend that she and Serrano had broken up the day before and he moved out. Police returned later and the woman agreed to allow police to search the apartment.

Police found Serrano hiding in an upstairs bedroom beneath a pile of laundry. Police also allegedly found “a large stack of mixed denomination bills sitting on the coffee table in the living room.”

The woman told police Serrano had left the apartment about 9:30 p.m. Monday and returned after 30 to 45 minutes “sweating like a pig” she told police. She said he took money out of pockets, handed it to her for “various owed bills,” the affidavit said. He allegedly told her he robbed a store to pay bills.

In court Tuesday, Serrano's attorney, Alix C. Walmsley filed a three-page motion asking police to “preserve all video tapes, security tapes, DVDs, and/or recordings” from numerous downtown police surveillance cameras, providing two maps of downtown camera locations.

Walmsley wrote in his motion that the camera footage would be helpful to determine the accuracy of witnesses' claims and also could assist the state's attorney's office in the case.

c.bessette@theday.com