EH's Finest Solve 2006 Purse-Snatching

A four-plus-year investigation into a "violent" purse-snatching on Main Street came to an end Wednesday, when East Haven police detectives solved the case.

Through evidence found on the scene -- the victim's purse and the suspect's sweatshirt -- and information gleaned from "numerous" witnesses, Kenneth T. Romans, 42, of 4 Ellen Place, East Haven, was arrested, according to Deputy Police Chief John Mannion.

The robbery and assault occurred on Sept. 15, 2006,  around 7 p.m. A middle-age woman was robbed of her purse incurring "serious" facial injuries and was sent to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment, said Mannion.

"Detectives diligently pursued investigative leads over the past five years and last December they were able to obtain a search and seizure warrant for DNA," said Mannion.

Detectives sent a piece of evidence from the search and seizure to the Connecticut State Police Forensic Lab in Meriden. It matched the DNA on the confiscated sweatshirt, allegedly worn by Romans on the night of the street attack.

Around 6 p.m. on March 23, police arrested Romans at his home on charges of robbery in the first degree, assault in the first degree and larceny in the second degree. Romans is being held at police headquarters on a $200,000 bond.