Authorities say a Newport man robbed two Derby brothers at gunpoint inside their mobile home on Monday, in what the alleged gunman described as a dispute over owed money.
Paul Patenaude, 55, was arrested that day and charged Tuesday with burglary with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault and robbery, and two counts of reckless endangerment, according to court records.
He is being held without bail at Northern State Correctional Facility.
The incident began around 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Derby Mobile Home Park on Route 5, according to Vermont State Police.
William Schneider, 56, told authorities that Patenaude and another man pulled up in a truck outside Schneider’s trailer, records show. The residence is owned by William’s 59-year-old brother, James.
Patenaude came onto the trailer’s porch with a bag, from which he later retrieved a gun, the younger Schneider told Orleans County Sheriff’s Department deputies.
Patenaude began “flipping out,” the man told the deputy, demanding William Schneider give him money that he apparently owed. At one point, Patenaude drew the gun and said, “Empty your pockets,” Schneider told deputies.
Once William Schneider saw Patenaude had a gun in his hand, he backed away from the doorway, allowing Patenaude and the other man to walk inside, state police said.
James Schneider was inside the home when he heard loud banging on the door, he told deputies. He went to see what was going on and saw Patenaude arguing with William Schneider inside the trailer, the older brother told deputies.
Patenaude was holding a gun and pointed it at the brothers, demanding all their money, James Schneider told deputies.
The elder Schneider said he gave Patenaude $70 and a cellphone. The younger brother said he gave Patenaude his driver’s license and the keys to his truck.
William Schneider told deputies that Patenaude had then driven toward Newport and might be going to a residence there on Glen Road.
An 84-year-old man living next to the Schneiders told deputies he had seen two men talking civilly with William Schneider and that he didn’t know if the men had gone inside Schneider’s mobile home, records show.
State police drove to the Newport address and found a vehicle matching the Schneiders’ description of Patenaude’s truck: a gray pickup with the words “Jesus is Lord” on the tailgate, according to court papers.
Another Schneider brother — Robert, 63 — answered the door and said Patenaude was inside, records show.
Patenaude told troopers that he had gone to the Schneiders’ home in Derby to retrieve money he claimed William Schneider had stolen from a 54-year-old woman, Lori Herron, according to court filings.
Herron, who was at the Newport residence, told troopers that she had left $115 on her bedroom dresser that morning before leaving, records show.
She said Robert Schneider saw his brother, William, go into the bedroom, and that when she returned, the money was gone, according to state police.
Herron said Patenaude had gotten the money back and given it to her, troopers said, and she handed state police the $115, along with William Schneider’s driver’s license.
Troopers saw what appeared to be a black rifle in Patenaude’s truck, according to affidavits, along with several bags and .22-caliber bullets.
Patenaude told troopers he had also taken from the two Schneiders “the revolver that they had of ours,” records show, and that the gun he had used during the incident was in his truck.
Robert Schneider told troopers he “did not witness anything” but that his brother William had called him that morning to ask for drugs, according to a state police affidavit.
Patenaude was taken to the Derby state police barracks and arrested, records show. His next hearing is set July 24 at the Orleans County courthouse.
State police did not mention the other alleged robber in a press release Tuesday about the incident.
Several hours after sending out that press release, state police issued another release describing an arson at the Schneiders’ mobile home in Derby.
Troopers said they were notified around midnight Tuesday that a truck was on fire at the residence.
Derby Line firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, which authorities believe had been purposefully set.
Sgt. David Robillard at the Derby barracks said investigators were considering whether the arson was related to the earlier incident.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Newport man accused of robbing Derby brothers at gunpoint.