Groton — Town police have charged suspected serial robber Timothy J. Foye with holding up the Henny Penny convenience store on Route 12 on April 2.

Foye, 26, of 130 Michigan Drive, Groton, has been held at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Institution since he was charged April 13 with an April 7 robbery of the Henny Penny convenience store on Route 32 in Waterford and the April 9 robbery at the People's United Bank at the Stop & Shop in Groton.

He was arraigned Monday in New London Superior Court on the new charges of first-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal use of a firearm. He is being held in lieu of bonds totaling $552,500 and his cases have been transferred to the court where major crimes are heard. His next court date is May 20.

The April 2 robbery at the Henny Penny at 294 Route 12, Groton, was the first in a series of crimes that put area law enforcement agencies, convenience store clerks and the public on alert. The investigation is continuing.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by town police detective Matthew Hammerstrom, Foye entered the store about 8:15 p.m. and asked the clerk for a bag. She handed him the bag and he said, "With the money in it," and took a black handgun out of his pocket. The clerk said she put most of the money from the register into the bag. She said Foye told her "You can keep some for yourself," before taking the bag and fleeing. The incident was recorded on the store's surveillance cameras, and store employees determined $348.94 was missing from the drawer.   

Town police spotted an Audi A6 on Michigan Drive that matched descriptions of the one used in the robberies and further identified Foye as a suspect with help from a woman who recognized him in surveillance photos that had been published in the media. Police confronted Foye at his home on April 10, where they found drug paraphernalia in his bedroom and a license plate, which he admitted belonged to a family member.

Foye confessed to committing five convenience store robberies, one attempted convenience store robbery and the People's Bank robbery, according to the affidavit. He said he needed the money to support his heroin addiction and to pay rent. He said that after seeing on television how easy it could be to rob a convenience store, he went to Wal-Mart, where he shoplifted a pellet gun. He said that before carrying out the first robbery, he sat in his car "to build up his nerve" and walked back and forth in front of the Henny Penny, entering when he noticed there were no other customers in the store.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN