A teen accused of driving a stolen car to a botched robbery that ended with a shooting at the 99 Restaurant & Pub in Groton last month pleaded not guilty Tuesday when he made his first appearance in the New London court where major crimes are tried. 

Timothy B. McKoy, 18, of New London is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, accessory to first-degree robbery and accessory to first-degree assault.

Groton Town Police allege McKoy drove Cevon T. Riley and Renso Gonzalez, both 17 and of New London, to the Long Hill Road restaurant in a stolen Honda CR-V on Oct. 2. The teens, who attended high school together, planned to rob another teen when he arrived to sell marijuana, according to police. A fight broke out and Riley, who had been recruited to serve as "muscle," pulled a gun and shot the 17-year-old victim before fleeing with McKoy and Gonzalez, according to town police.

All three teens are being held at the Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire while their cases are pending in Superior Court.

A doctor who treated the victim told police the bullet traveled through his left hand, causing several bone fractures, and into the lower left side of his torso, going through his colon/large intestine and left kidney before coming to rest against his spine.

McKoy was arrested during a traffic stop on Oct. 6 by New London police, who knew that he was wanted by Mohegan Tribal police for three counts of third-degree larceny, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. McKoy was carrying a bag of clothes with him that contained a 9 mm handgun, according to police, who said they seized the clothing and gun. 

While at the New London Police Department, McKoy waived his rights and agreed to speak with Sgt. Nick Parham and Detective Rob Emery of the Groton Town Police Department, according to the affidavit. Though he denied driving to the 99 Restaurant, he admitted he stole the Honda, which he referred to as a "stolie," and said he dumped it at an apartment complex on Westridge Road after Riley wiped it down. McKoy identified himself and Riley in surveillance images recovered by police, according to the affidavit. 

McCoy said that he and Riley then walked to the area of Fred's Shanty on Pequot Avenue, where Riley removed from under his shirt a plastic bag containing a gun and threw it in the water.

k.florin@theday.com