This story by Bob Audette was published by the Brattleboro Reformer on May 8.
[B]RATTLEBORO — When he’s released from the hospital, a man who was shot several times by local police Friday night will face federal charges.
According to documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, Mark Triolo, 46, of Lewisville, Texas, stands accused of robbing a store in Queensbury, New York, and three stores in Vermont in Vergennes, Weathersfield and Westminster. Triolo is being charged in federal court because he “obstructed, delayed or affected commerce of the movement of articles or commodities in commerce” when he robbed Small City Market in Vergennes of more than $6,000 on May 1, according to the affidavit.
On the night of May 4, Triolo was spotted at the Exit 3 Mobil Station in Brattleboro at 8:40 p.m., where he had just purchased three Mike’s Hard Lemonades, according to the documents. Earlier that day, Triolo allegedly robbed the Ascutney Sunoco Gas Station in Weathersfield and Allen Brothers Farm Market in Westminster.
“As Triolo returned to the vehicle, he was approached by BPD officers who attempted to take him into custody,” stated the affidavit attached to the federal court filing. “Triolo fled the parking lot in the vehicle at a high rate of speed.”
Local police lost sight of Triolo’s vehicle, but at 8:50 p.m., dispatch received a call from a resident on Black Mountain Road that a suspicious vehicle had pulled into their driveway. At just past 9 p.m., Triolo was located by officers a short distance from the vehicle, hiding in the woods. When he failed to respond to verbal commands, officers fired their service weapons, striking him several times. Officers provided medical aid until rescue personnel arrived. Triolo was then transported to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital before being moved to Dartmouth-Hitchock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
According to a spokesman at DHMC, Triolo is not on the list of patients who are allowing their status to be released to the public. As of Sunday, state police said Triolo was in stable condition.
Police had learned that Triolo had used what appeared to be a black firearm in the Small City Market robbery. At the time he was shot, he was not in possession of the firearm, which turned out to be a BB gun. It was later found unloaded in his vehicle, which Triolo allegedly stole from his girlfriend in Lewisville.
In a news release, the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont’s office said Triolo will make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy “as soon as he is physically able to do so.” If convicted, Triolo faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the release.
Up until Dec. 20, 2016, Triolo was incarcerated in Texas on a charge of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault against a public servant. He was sentenced to a 25-year prison sentence in 1999. Upon his release, he was supposed to have been on parole 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.” And on April 25, an emergency arrest warrant was issued. According to the Lewisville Police Department, Triolo removed his GPS bracelet before leaving Texas in the stolen vehicle.
In an email, Raymond Estrada, director of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, told the Reformer that Triolo was subject to the state’s “Super Intensive Supervision Program,” which mandates GPS monitoring. In addition to obeying the law and avoiding contact with past victims, he was prohibited from traveling outside of Texas without the approval of his supervising officer, and ordered to undergo alcohol and/or controlled substance testing, among other conditions.
According to published reports, Triolo is a suspect in bank robberies in Topeka, Kansas, and in West Knox County in Tennessee. According to WIBW in Topeka, Triolo is suspected of robbing a branch of Alliance Bank shortly after 11 a.m. on April 26. According to Knox County Sheriff’s Office, a man robbed a branch of the Tennessee Credit Union at about 1:45 p.m. on April 30.
On May 2, Triolo texted his girlfriend, stating he was sorry that “By now the feds have contacted you about me … I’ve robbed too many banks in the last few days for this to end well.”
He also texted his girlfriend that he had put her 2007 black Kia Sorrento on a car hauler, which “should be there in ten days … look in the door panel of the drivers [sic] door … its [sic] stuffed with cash … keep your mouth shut about it and no one will know.”
According to court documents, Triolo allegedly stole more than $6,000 from the Small City Market.
In his text, Triolo acknowledged making mistakes and that he had “ducked up.” He also advised that he was “ditching the phone so I can’t be tracked.”
