Update: Man held on $300K bail after botched robbery
UPDATE (2:15 p.m.): The 33-year-old Riverhead man who allegedly attempted to rob an Osborn Avenue store Monday night faced a judge this afternoon, answering to two felony charges.
Nicholas Savino is charged with two counts of second-degree robbery after displaying what appeared to be a handgun at International Connection and demanding money about 8:45 p.m., police said.
Mr. Savino hit a store worker several times in the head, causing lacerations to the man’s face, prosecutors said during his arraignment in Riverhead Town court.
The worker was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, according to a release.
Two other workers subdued Mr. Savino until police arrived, prosecutors said in court. Visible cuts could be seen around Mr. Savino’s neck and face while in court this afternoon.
Justice Richard Ehlers granted an order of protection for the store workers involved in the incident.
Procesuters said Mr. Savino has been convicted of one felony and eight misdemeanors prior to the incident.
He also failed to appear in court on four separate occasions, prosecutors said.
Mr. Savino is being held on $300,000 bail.
Original Story: Less than 30 minutes after a shooting sent a Polish Town woman to a hospital Monday night, three employees at a store on nearby Osborn Avenue wrestled an armed robber to the ground in an unrelated incident.
Nicholas Savino, 33, of Riverhead displayed a handgun as he entered International Connection and demanded money of three employees there at about 8:45 p.m., police said. The three men quickly fought him off and held him down until police could arrive.
It was later learned the gun Mr. Savino used in the robbery was actually a BB pistol, police said.
Mr. Savino and one of the employees were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries from the scuffle, police said.
A worker at the store, who did not give a name Monday night, said, “I’m just happy everyone is safe and we could all go home with our lives tonight.”
Mr. Savino is being held at police headquarters on two counts of second-degree robbery, police said. He is expected to be arraigned later Tuesday morning. He was previously arrested last February on a warrant related to a charge of petit larceny.
