Lyme — State police said they have arrested the man who allegedly robbed H.L. Reynolds' General Store in August while carrying a realistic-looking .43-caliber paint ball gun.

Zachary Michael Eavens, 27, of Meriden was charged Dec. 8 with fifth-degree larceny, second-degree robbery and first-degree threatening.

During the robbery, which occurred around 6:20 p.m. on Aug. 10 at the 254 Hamburg Road store, Eavens allegedly pointed the gun at the two women who were closing up for the night, according to an arrest warrant application. Eavens then demanded that they give him all of their money, police said.

According to the application, Diana DeWolf-Carfi, the 55-year-old who often helps her 83-year-old mother close the store, first asked Eavens, "Are you kidding?"

Then, DeWolf-Carfi said in her statement, Eavens tried to take her glasses off before grabbing $130 off the front counter. She said she handed him an additional amount of about $800 that was in the register.

In her statement, DeWolf-Carfi described the vehicle she said Eavens entered, a brown SUV with the word "Jimmy" on its right side, and said that its plate's first three digits were "8AU."

Using that information — along with surveillance video from Reynolds' Subaru and from a Lyme resident, as well as information from the GMC dealership in Old Saybrook and the state Department of Motor Vehicles — police said they were able to pinpoint a 2001 GMC Jimmy registered to Eavens.

On Aug. 11, just a day after the robbery, state police said they alerted Meriden police of their investigation and visited Eavens' home there, finding first his vehicle and then him.

After they notified Eavens that they'd identified his vehicle as being at the scene of a robbery, police said, Eavens said, "I did it."

Police said Eavens then voluntarily went to the Meriden police station, where he gave a statement and was released pending an arrest warrant. Eavens also turned over the gun he said he used during the robbery, according to police.

In his statement to police, Eavens said his motivation for the robbery was to come up with $84 so he could pay the fee for the "last four weeks of bowling." Eavens noted that he had to pay a $196 speeding ticket and his rent, too.

According to the arrest warrant application, Eavens did not know the store typically closed at 6 p.m. and spent some time "contemplating whether or not he could do this" before entering.

Eavens admitted to reaching for one of the clerk's eyeglasses and to taking money from the store in his statement, but said he believed the total amount of money he left with was $550.

Cash in hand, Eavens said, he went to Mohegan Sun Casino, arriving at 6:30 or 7 p.m. and staying until about 1 a.m. At the end of the night, he said, he had $4 left over. Police later found four single dollar bills in Eavens' car, according to the application.

Following Eavens' statement, police said they were able to work with the Mohegan Tribal Police Department to confirm that Eavens was at the casino when he said he was.

Police there said Eavens "sat at a slot machine for a very short time" before spending $406 playing poker and then buying gas on his way home.

State police said Eavens "expressed remorse for his actions and was emotionally distraught, however it was unclear if the remorse was for his being caught or for the victims."

According to state Judicial Branch records, Eavens has been released from custody on a promise to appear in court and is next due in New London Superior Court at 10 a.m. on Jan. 20.

Records show Eavens has been convicted in Meriden four times on charges — including driving with a suspended license, reckless driving and two counts of interfering with an officer — that occurred in 2009 and 2010.

l.boyle@theday.com

Twitter: @LindsayABoyle