Man pleads guilty to three robberies

A Weathersfield man has admitted he held up two banks in Springfield and a gas station in Ludlow earlier this year.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150905/NEWS02/709059939

Matthew Martin, 31, of Weathersfield waived extradition to Rhode Island to face a probation violation complaint there after he admitted this week to having robbed two banks in Springfield and a gas station in Ludlow earlier this year. Photo: Photo by Eric FrancisPublished September 5, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Man pleads guilty to three robberies By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Weathersfield man has admitted he held up two banks in Springfield and a gas station in Ludlow earlier this year. Matthew Martin, 31, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of assault and robbery as part of a plea agreement this week in White River Junction criminal court. Before sentencing, Martin will be extradited to Rhode Island to deal with the effect of his latest convictions on his probation in that state, where he has drug convictions from several years ago. When he is returned to Vermont, Martin is expected to receive a sentence of 18 months to 15 years under the plea agreement. State’s Attorney Michael Kainen said after the plea this week that the relatively low minimum on the expected sentence reflects Martin’s cooperation with authorities as they worked on their case against George Tarbell, who they allege was Martin’s accomplice in all three of the robberies. Tarbell, 31, pleaded innocent a month ago to five felony counts of acting as an accessory before the fact for allegedly helping Martin to plan those robberies and for allegedly acting as his getaway driver. Focusing on Martin at this week’s hearing, the prosecutor told Judge Theresa DiMauro that Martin went into the Windsor County Credit Union in Springfield, with a black hooded sweatshirt covering his face. He told clerks Kimberly Clark and Rose Thow he had a gun and demanded money, Kainen said; they emptied a drawer containing almost $2,600. “Do you admit those facts?” DiMauro asked Martin. “Yes, your honor,” he replied. A fingerprint on a “demand note” dropped at the bank led police to Martin, along with tips from several people who told police it was him based on the surveillance video. The second robbery, Kainen told the court, occurred Feb. 7 when Martin entered a Shell gas station in Ludlow with a semi-automatic handgun and demanded that the clerk open the safe. “Mr. Martin then removed cash from the drawer and left the store with the cash,” the prosecutor said. Martin later allegedly told investigators he had purchased the gun in Brattleboro but had no ammunition for it. In the final robbery Feb. 17, Kainen said, Martin entered the Citizens Bank in Springfield. “He threw a grocery bag at teller Ken Davis, telling him he had a gun and said that this was a robbery,” Kainen said. The clerk handed over $5,744, and as Martin ran over a nearby pedestrian bridge, a dye pack in the cash exploded, the prosecutor said. Under the plea deal, several other charges including narcotics possession will be dropped when Martin is sentenced.