(Bridgeport, CT – July 18, 2013) – A 52-year-old man faces robbery and assault charges after asking a 90-year-old Milford man for a ride and then robbing him.

Officer Everton Walker, a Bridgeport officer assigned to the Statewide Urban Violence Task Force, was in an unmarked car Wednesday when he pulled up on car stopped in the middle of the street on Bruce Boulevard near Radel Street, an isolated area near St. Michael’s Cemetery.

He observed two people inside. When he pulled alongside, the driver rolled down his window and shouted for help.

Walker observed a struggle between two males, with the passenger, later identified as Delonce Henton, of Nob Hill Circle, clutching the victim’s hand trying to remove a ring. Henton managed to rip off the ring. Walker also saw him holding a broken gold chain.

Walker identified himself as a police officer and ordered Henton not to move, but Henton jumped out of the car and attempted to flee. Walker took him into custody after a brief struggle and called for backup.

The victim stated that he met the suspect while shopping at a store on Connecticut Avenue and that Henton asked for a ride to the hospital on the pretence of visiting his sick wife. Instead Henton directed him to the isolated area near the cemetery and robbed him.

Henton faces charges of second-degree robbery, assault on an elderly person and interfering with police. His bond was set at $50,000.

During the struggle, Henton dropped the ring, and the victim pleaded for help finding it because it had sentimental value. After a brief search through vegetation along the road, officers found and returned the ring to the victim.

Henton is being investigated as a suspect in several similar robberies in the city.