Cops: Homeless Man Arrested for Attempted Armed Robbery, Beating

A homeless man has  been arrested and charged for an attempted armed robbery during which a man on his way to work was beaten with a rock, police said.

According to Riverhead Town police, Monwell A. Wright, 20 of Riverhead, was arrested on Saturday at 2:11 p.m. on Railroad Avenue without incident. 

Police said on Friday at 6:15 a.m., a man, 25, of Riverhead, was walking to work on Sweezy Avenue when he was approached by a man and woman; the woman pointed a gun at him while the man beat him with a rock in the head, neck and shoulder, while demanding money.

The man was treated at Peconic Bay Medical Center for his injuries, police said

At the time of his arrest, police said Wright was found to be in possession of a Desert Eagle airsoft pistol and two suboxone sublingual films, a prescription medication used to treat opiod dependence.

Wright was charged with two counts of attempted robbery in the first degree, a felony, assault in the second degree, a felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor, police said.

He was processed at Riverhead police headquarters and held for arraignment.

It was not immediately clear if the arrest was tied in any way to a second armed robbery attempt that took place in Riverhead Friday night, police said.

During that incident, the second armed robbery attempt in one day, a man was also beaten, police said.

According to Riverhead Town police, a man was walking south on Griffing Avenue just north of the railroad tracks at 10 p.m. Friday when he was approached by two men. One man grabbed him and pointed a handgun at him, police said, with the second man standing at his side.

The man holding the gun demanded cash from the victim, police said. The victim was struck in the head several times with the handgun, police said. No cash was taken from the victim, authorities added.

The two men fled the scene in an unknown direction. The victim was taken by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and released.