BURLINGTON — A Texas man who police say stole more than $6,000 during a stick-up at a Vergennes market as part of a cross country armed robbery spree pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington last week.
Mark Triolo, 46, was shot by police in Brattleboro on May 4, three days after the armed holdup at the Small City Market in Vergennes.
Triolo also is a suspect in two armed robberies in Southern Vermont both within an hour before the shooting by Brattleboro and Vermont State Police, records show.
Triolo was initially charged on May 6 in a criminal complaint by the FBI for the Vergennes robbery, but a federal grand jury in Burlington indicted him May 30 on the single count for the Small City Market case.
Since the shooting, Triolo had been held at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., under armed guard by the FBI and New Hampshire and Vermont state police. He was discharged Monday morning, June 4, and by early afternoon the FBI had taken him to the federal courthouse on Elmwood Avenue for arraignment.
Triolo appeared to be in pain, walked with a limp and was holding his side as he was escorted into the courtroom. He used his right hand to hold his left side throughout the hearing — only taking his hand off to be sworn in to answer questions from the court. Triolo grimaced as he replaced it briefly with his left hand. He was allowed to remain seated at the defense table throughout the hearing.
Triolo, who police say sustained gunshot wounds to the legs and one to his chest, was wearing pajama pants and a white t-shirt with plenty of tattoos showing on his arms.
“He is in a lot of pain,” Assistant Public Defender David McColgin said. McColgin also reported it was only in recent days that Triolo regained the ability to eat regular food on his own.
Conroy agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Perella that Triolo should be held pending trial. Triolo is both a risk of flight and a danger to the community, Conroy said.
Conroy noted there are arrest warrants for Triolo for an April 26 bank robbery in Kansas and an armed robbery in Queensbury, N.Y., also in April. Triolo also is wanted in Texas for a parole violation related to an aggravated assault, the magistrate said.
McColgin asked for 90 days to investigate the case. He said there is an “extensive” criminal record that must be reviewed and there were several jurisdictions that wanted him. He said the charges are serious and time was needed to prepare the case.
Federal marshals took him to the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, which has some medical facilities.
THE ROBBERY
Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel reported a robber walked into the Small City Market at the corner of Main and South Water streets about 9:05 p.m. May 1. The robber pointed a pistol at the head of a store clerk and stole about $6,115, officials said.
The next day the Warren County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Department called Vergennes police to report they had seen a report about the market robbery on social media and deputies said the same suspect had robbed a Queensbury, N.Y., market on April 30, the FBI said
Vermont State Trooper Christopher Hein responded to Kampersville, a campground in Salisbury, south of Middlebury, where the owner reported the robber was staying there, the FBI said. Hein went to the campsite, but found only an empty vodka bottle, FBI Special Agent Colin Simons said in a court affidavit.
Vergennes Detective Sgt. Jason Ouellette spoke with the campground owner and learned Triolo had planned to stay for two days and leave May 3. A review of security camera video from the campground confirmed the camper and the robber was the same person and the hat worn in both robberies were the same, Simons said.
Three days after the Vergennes holdup, Triolo became the prime suspect for two armed robberies in southern Vermont: the Ascutney Sunoco Gasoline Station in Weathersfield shortly before 8 p.m. and at the Allen Brothers Farm Market in Westminster about 8:26 p.m., Vermont State Police have said.
Police said a 2007 Kia Sorento with Texas license plates, which had been reported stolen, was used as a getaway car and was later spotted in Brattleboro. The driver fled at a high rate of speed as officers tried to move in about 8:41 p.m., but he was later confronted again on Black Mountain Road, where Brattleboro and state police officers wounded Triolo about 9:05 p.m. He was taken initially to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Police said they never found a firearm at the scene, but later located an unloaded Daisy Powerline 340 pellet gun on the front seat of the car, state police said.
The stolen car was owned by the mother of his girlfriend, Deborah Greenfield in Lewisville, Texas. Vergennes police said they learned from Lewisville police that Triolo was on state parole for armed robbery when he stole the car and he removed a tracking bracelet installed by his parole officer.
Triolo then sent a text message with bad spelling, and little punctuation to the Greenfields which read “by now the feds have contacted you about me, sorry about that. I’ve robbed too many banks in the last few days for this to end well. Just put the kua on a car hauler should be there in ten days look in the door panel of the driver’s door it’s stuffed with cash keep your mouth shut about it and no one will know. Sorry I know I ducked up love you guys. Don’t try and text me back ditching the phone so I can’t be tracked.”