Prosecutors in Vermont have cleared four officers of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting of an unarmed man wanted in a multi-state robbery spree they tried to arrest in Brattleboro but he fled instead, refusing orders to stop and to put his hands up.
Investigators did say they later discovered a pellet gun in his vehicle.
Mark Triolo, 46, of Texas, who was wounded in the May 4 shooting, has since been released from the hospital and is jailed in Vermont awaiting trial on a federal robbery charge.
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan said in a statement Thursday that he reviewed the officer-involved shooting of Triolo and is “declining to prosecute” the three Brattleboro police officers and one Vermont State Police trooper involved.
“Given that there are pending criminal charges against Mr. Triolo related to this incident, the office is restricted from releasing more information at this time,” the statement added.
The release also stated that Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver also conducted an independent review and has declined to file criminal charges against the officers.
“In accordance with the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office will, at this time, comment further on the specific findings of their reviews,” according to the statement.
“The Offices may release additional information related to their decisions if and when the criminal charges pending against Mr. Triolo are resolved.”
The Brattleboro Police Department police officers involved in the shooting were Sgt. Steven Stanley, Officer Sean Wilson, and Officer Michael Cable. Trooper Jason Lengfellner was the Vermont State Police member involved in the shooting.
The Triolo case is the fourth in the last twelve months involving a police shooting that Donovan has reviewed and cleared officers of wrongdoing.
Police said Triolo made his way to Vermont after cutting off his GPS monitoring device from his ankle and fleeing Texas where he was on parole from a previous robbery conviction in that state.
According to court documents, on May 1, Triolo held up the Small City Market in Vergennes and fled the store with $6,115 in cash.
At the time of that robbery, Triolo was also a suspect in a robbery in Queensbury, New York, a day earlier, according to authorities.
On the evening of May 4, before the shooting, court filings stated, police were notified of two more armed robberies: one at the Ascutney Sunoco gas station in Weathersfield and a second armed robbery at the Allen Brothers Farm Market in Westminster.
Police said through investigation they learned that those two robberies on May 4 were the work of Triolo, based on information, including surveillance images, gathered from the earlier stickups.
Around 8:40 p.m. on May 4 police said they found Triolo at the Exit 3 Mobil gas station in Brattleboro, driving a KIA Sorento with Texas plates, and tried to take him into custody.
Triolo sped away.
Police eventually caught up with Triolo again, and by this time he had taken off from his vehicle and was on foot.
“Officers began to give verbal commands to the suspect, ordering him to stop and to show his hands,” according to police. “The suspect did not respond to verbal commands, and subsequently officers fired multiple rounds striking the suspect.”
Triolo, who police learned was not armed, was taken into custody. He was then transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H.
Officers later searching the vehicle driven by Triolo recovered a pellet gun “which was similar in appearance to an actual semi-automatic pistol” and similar to the weapon used in one of the earlier robberies, according to police.
Warrants for his arrest have been issued in other states where he allegedly committed crimes.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Prosecutors clear cops who wounded unarmed fleeing suspect.