West Hartford Police arrested a man via warrant in connection with a December 2024 armed robbery of the Family Dollar Store on New Britain Avenue.

By Ronni Newton

Through an investigation by the West Hartford Police Department’s Detective Division and the use of the the state’s DNA indexing system, a suspect in the Dec. 14, 2024 armed robbery of the Family Dollar Store at 939 New Britain Avenue was arrested via warrant on March 17.

In an email on Thursday, Lt. Ryan Riley said police had responded to 939 New Britain Avenue for a complaint of an armed robbery at approximately 6:06 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2024.

“It was reported that a male entered the store, pulled out a handgun from his sweatshirt, and demanded money. The male suspect then subsequently left the store on foot after receiving an undisclosed amount of money,” Riley said in an email.

No one was injured in the incident, police said.

West Hartford detectives launched an investigation, which included interviewing witnesses and collection of evidence, including DNA, Riley said.

He said the DNA evidence was submitted to the State of Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, and analysis “yielded a CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) Hit notification of a possible offender in the case.”

The suspect has been identified as David Chaparro, 47, of Willimantic. Police sought an arrest warrant, which was approved, and Chaparro was charged on Tuesday, March 17 with first-degree robbery.

David Chaparro. Courtesy of West Hartford Police

Chaparro was already incarcerated on unrelated charges, which according to online court records include illegal use of a facsimile firearm. He also has additional previous conditions for motor vehicle offenses, probation violation, and failure to appear, online court records show.

Chaparro remains in custody of the Department of Corrections on $100,000 bond in this case. He was arraigned Tuesday and is due back in court on April 29 to face charges in the West Hartford armed robbery charges.