Norwich police have arrested the first of several suspects in a May 18 beating at the Ravi Mart gas station on Central Avenue that left the victim with a traumatic brain injury and collapsed lung.

Wellington C. Griffin, 36, of 252 Prospect St., Norwich, was arraigned Tuesday in Superior Court on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and second-degree breach of peace. He is being held in lieu of $180,000 bond at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville and is due back in court on Nov. 7. 

Detective Sgt. Peter B. Camp said several more arrests are expected.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Detective Kevin J. Wilbur, police who were dispatched to the gas station at 10:40 p.m. on May 18 for a man on the ground found the victim, who is unidentified in the warrant, lying face down next to a gas pump with multiple facial lacerations and swelling of the head.

Witnesses told police multiple people ran from the scene on foot, and they saw a grayish SUV drive away. Officer Christopher Hawrylik pulled over a blue SUV a short time later and questioned the occupants. One of them, Tremaine Dowdell, was later identified as a suspect after officers viewed the video footage from the gas station, which showed several men punching and kicking the victim while he lay on the ground, according to the affidavit. Also identified were Griffin, Kwendelle Wiggins and Hugh Lowery.

Hawrylik and Patrolman Matthew Goddu had dealt with the same suspects and the victim earlier that evening after receiving a report of a disturbance in the area of Central Avenue, according to the affidavit. The victim, who had been stopped and questioned as he walked with two other men on Central Avenue, said he had been involved in a verbal argument over "nothing."

Police said they obtained video footage from pole-mounted cameras on Central Avenue that shows the suspects chasing the victim down the street toward the gas station. They also learned that earlier in the day, Griffin had said he wanted to "bash the victim's brains" after learning the victim had stolen $25 from a man who wanted to buy heroin.

The victim, who was placed in an induced coma and put on a ventilator at The William W. Backus Hospital, was in the hospital and a rehabilitation center for about two months and suffers from confusion and disorientation as a result of his traumatic brain injury. He said his assailants stole $400 and a cellphone from him.

k.florin@theday.com