Burlington
Mark Triolo, 46, admitted in U.S. District Court last week he robbed the Small City Market in Vergennes on May 1, and the Allen Brothers Farm Stand in Westminster and the Ascutney Sunoco Station in Weathersfield, both on May 4.
For each robbery he faces up to 20 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release. Triolo also could be fined $250,000 for each robbery.
Federal Judge Christina Reiss set June 3 for the sentencing of Triolo, who is from Lewisville, Texas. She ordered Triolo be held at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield at the end of his change of plea hearing on Thursday.
At least three motions to delay the federal case were filed as the defense sought to try to resolve Triolo’s other legal issues: a state charge in Texas for a parole violation in an aggravated assault case, a federal charge in Kansas for bank robbery on April 26 and a state charge in New York for armed robbery on April 30 in Queensbury, N.Y., according to statements in court and motions by Triolo’s public defender.
In the end, Triolo, who initially was arrested in Vermont for only the Vergennes armed robbery, agreed to admit to the three Vermont holdups, court records show. Triolo granted in open court to waive having a federal grand jury indict him on the two southern Vermont charges and allowed the prosecution to proceed on the three Vermont robberies.
The seven-page signed plea agreement says it can only cover crimes that could be charged by federal prosecutors in Vermont. It “cannot bind other federal, state or local prosecuting authorities,” the document notes.
Triolo is asking that, when sentenced, the judge give him credit for acceptance of responsibility by admitting his guilt instead of seeking a federal trial.
His multi-state crime spree came to an end when he was shot on Black Mountain Road in Brattleboro shortly after the two armed robberies in southern Vermont on May 4, police said.
Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver and Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced in August that they would not file any charges against the four officers involved in the shooting that led to Triolo’s capture.
Three were with Brattleboro Police: Sgt. Steven Stanley, hired in 2013; Officer Sean Wilson, hired in 2016; and Officer Michael Cable, hired in 2013. The other officer was Vermont State Police Trooper Jason Lengfellner, hired in 2016 and assigned to the Westminster barracks.
Additionally, now-Lt. Adam Petlock of the Brattleboro Police Department and Trooper Joshua Gagnon of the state police were at the scene but never discharged their firearms, officials said.
Triolo sustained gunshot wounds to the legs and one to his chest, Assistant Public Defender David McColgin told Federal Magistrate John M. Conroy during a June court hearing. Conroy ordered Triolo detained as a flight risk and a danger to the community.
Triolo was sentenced in 1999 in Texas to 25 years in prison on charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault against a public servant, but was freed on Dec. 20, 2016, news accounts show. The plan was to have him on parole in Texas until 2024, but on Jan. 4, 2018, an arrest warrant was issued because he failed to meet the conditions of release and was classified “an absconder,” the news accounts indicated.
The Lewisville (Texas) Police Department reported Triolo removed his GPS bracelet before leaving Texas in a vehicle stolen from his mother-in-law.
The stolen 2007 Kia Sorento with Texas license plates was the getaway car in the two robberies on May 4, police said.
About 25 minutes after the second robbery that night, police spotted the car parked at the Exit 3 Mobil gasoline station in Brattleboro, the FBI said.
Triolo went inside the store to buy three Mike’s Hard Lemonades, and when he came out, Brattleboro officers tried to move in, but the driver fled at a high rate of speed about 8:41 p.m.
About nine minutes later, a resident on Black Mountain Road reported a suspicious car had pulled into a driveway and shut off the lights.
Police found nobody with the car, but Triolo was located hiding nearby in a wood line at about 9:04 p.m., the FBI said.
He was ordered to stop and show his hands and when he didn’t, Brattleboro and state police officers wounded him, the FBI said. The officers provided first aid until rescue personnel arrived.
Police said investigators never found a firearm at the scene, but later located an unloaded Daisy Powerline 340 pellet gun in the front seat of the car.
Triolo got on the radar of Vermont law enforcement after back-to-back armed robberies in Queensbury, N.Y., on April 30 and Vergennes, Vt., on May 1.
Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel reported a robber walked into the Small City Market at the corner of Main Street and South Water Street at about 9:05 p.m. on May 1. The robber pointed a pistol at the head of a store clerk and stole about $6,115, officials said.