Man Robs Woman At Knifepoint, Claims He Was Sleepwalking

A Connecticut man accused of robbing a woman at knifepoint in the elevator of the Mohegan Sun casino has an unusual defense: he claims that he was sleepwalking when the incident took place.

Winston Riley, the accused, told his attorney that the last thing he remembers is falling asleep on March 18th, and then being violently woken up by a woman running from him and screaming in fear. The attorney, Nicholas D’Amato, told a judge on Wednesday that he’s going to take that claim and run with it, building medical defense into the case for Riley, reports the Courant.

Riley was arrested on March 18th after the woman told police that he attempted to steal her purse after flashing a knife while the two were alone in a parking garage elevator.

D’Amato says that he has confirmed with Riley’s family that the 27-year-old has had a problem with sleepwalking since he was young. He’s currently gathering medical evidence and putting together his defense, hoping that prosecutors will take the claim seriously, reports HuffPo.

“It is the first time we’ve encountered this,” D’Amato said. “This is a legitimate medical condition.”

Police say that Riley actually confessed to the crime when he was arrested, admitting to cops that he “just wanted some money.” D’Amato maintains that the facts just don’t wash. Riley is married, and he doesn’t even have a criminal record.

“I told the judge and prosecutor … ‘Do you honestly think he woke up one morning, drove across the state and decided to rob a woman in a place full of security cameras?”‘ D’Amato said. “It doesn’t make sense if you think about it rationally.”

In any case, Riley’s bail was lowered on Wednesday from $100,000 to $85,000 and he’s set to reappear in court on July 17th.

Here’s a video report from our pals at Newsy:

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