Man accused of pistol whipping and robbing woman in Enfield
December 14 – ROBBERY
ACCUSED: Willie Valentin, 25, who previously listed an address on Old Farms Road in Enfield and more recently a Hartford address
Charges: first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, parole violation
STATUS: Held on $350,000 bond due January 4 in Hartford Superior Court
A former Enfield man is being held on $350,000 bail amid charges of repeatedly pistol-whipping a woman in the face and robbing her while police believe a prostitution date at the Motel 6 in Hazard Avenue in Enfield had been arranged.
Willie Valentin, 25, who formerly had an Old Farms Road address and more recently a Hartford address, is charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree assault in the July 17 incident.
He faces up to 20 years in prison for robbery and up to five years for assault.
As a result of the same events, he is also facing probation violation charges in a case in which he was convicted of carrying a handgun without a permit in Hartford in May 2020.
He received a one-year sentence in the case and could face up to four more years in prison if he violates his parole terms.
Police learned of the incident after receiving reports that a woman who appeared to be under the influence of drugs was walking in and out of traffic asking motorists if they were going for a ride, according to an affidavit from the Enfield Police Officer, Allison Mount.
When Mount arrived, the woman, who was shaking and crying, told her that she had been attacked at Motel 6.
The officer reported that the woman had a large bruise on her right eye and three small parallel cuts that the officer said matched the grooves on a pistol’s slide.
After being examined by medical staff, the woman refused treatment but was given an ice pack, the official reported.
The woman initially denied meeting the man at the motel to exchange sex for money, but stopped denying when the officer told her she wasn’t in trouble.
The woman said in an affidavit that while she sat on the edge of the motel room’s bed, the man sexually abused her and demanded her money.
She said he then hit her on the right cheek two or three times with a brown pistol and took money from her purse.
She quoted him as saying, “If you tell anyone, I will hunt you down and finish the job.”
She said she did not want to press charges because she believed she was being killed.
But the woman also said she didn’t want the man to “do that to the other girl.”
Her phone was broken and she was unable to give the officer the man’s phone number before she left in a ridesharing car.
But the motel manager said Valentin had checked in and played video footage of his arrival.
The officer reported that she identified Valentin by matching surveillance footage to a law enforcement database.
The officer also reported that surveillance video showed Valentin exiting the room and returning with the woman, who the officer identified by her red dress.
In a subsequent telephone conversation, the officer reported, Valentin told her that he had previously been to the motel to meet a woman.
He said she “freaked out” about him and tried to extort money from him, after which he got scared and left the room. He denied hitting the woman.
He said he would come to the police station the next afternoon to give a statement but did not show up.
Attempts to reach Valentin’s attorney, Michael D. Dwyer, were not immediately successful.
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