Arrest Made in Fatal Attempted Robbery at Milford Gas Station

A West Haven man was arrested Friday on charges tied to an alleged attempted armed robbery that turned fatal at a Milford gas station last month.

Jonathan D. Cenat, 29, was taken into custody on an arrest warrant charging him with conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, second-degree making a false statement and interfering with police.

The charges are in connection with an Oct. 23 incident at Patriot Fuels gas station at 719 Boston Post Road, police said.

Early that morning, a state trooper on patrol of the area reportedly stopped at the business for a restroom break and upon exiting the bathroom encountered an armed robbery in progress, police said.

The trooper directed the suspect to drop his weapon, which the Connecticut Post reported as being “a machete-type blade.” But he did not comply and the trooper shot the suspect, police said.

Matthew Lofaro, 28, a Milford resident, was pronounced dead on scene, police said. The state trooper, 15-year veteran James Scott, per department policy was assigned to administrative duty pending a review of the incident, police said.

Cenat was held in lieu of $150,000 bond before being transported to Milford Superior Court for arraignment.