Charleston man arrested for robbery, burglary at Norman Street apartment

Charleston police have arrested a Line Street man in connection with a robbery in which a man’s arm was broken Monday at a Norman Street apartment.

Chez Khaliel Hayward, 21, is charged with strong-arm robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree assault and battery, police spokesman Charles Francis said. Hayward is being held in Charleston County jail.

The incident occurred about 11 p.m. when a 45-year-old man answered a knock at his front door, Francis said. Three men asked him to step outside. When he refused, the men grabbed him, forced him outside and started kicking and punching him, he said.

One of the suspects told the man to stay away from his niece, while another suspect took $150 from him, Francis said. The man, whose left arm was fractured, called police after the men left, according to a police report.

The victim told police he thought the incident might have been sparked by his friendly, but platonic, relationship with the 17-year-old daughter of a neighbor, a police report said.

Police did not reveal how Hayward was tied to the crime, which remains under investigation.