Weathersfield Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robberies

 http://www.vnews.com/news/18438575-95/weathersfield-man-pleads-guilty-to-bank-robberies

By Maggie Cassidy
Valley News Staff Writer

Thursday, September 3, 2015
(Published in print: Thursday, September 3, 2015) 

 

White River Junction — A Weathersfield man has pleaded guilty to three felonies related to three separate robberies earlier this year, including at a credit union and a bank in Springfield, Vt.

The sentencing for Matthew Martin, 31, is delayed as he awaits extradition to Rhode Island to answer charges of being a fugitive from justice in that state.

During a hearing in Windsor Superior Court on Tuesday, Martin pleaded guilty to two charges of assault and robbery related to the Jan. 28 robbery of the Windsor County Credit Union in Springfield and the Feb. 17 robbery of the Springfield Citizens Bank.

Martin also pleaded guilty to assault and robbery with a weapon for the Feb. 7 holdup of the Sunoco gas station in Ludlow, Vt.

As part of a plea deal, Windsor County State’s Attorney Michael Kainen said Martin is expected to be sentenced to 18 months to 15 years, or three years to 10 years.

Kainen said the legal logistics of the Rhode Island charges meant that it made more sense for Martin to change his pleas on Tuesday then get extradited to Rhode Island to face those charges, and then be sentenced by a Vermont judge at a later date, either by phone in Rhode Island or when Martin returns to Vermont. 

Martin could also face time in Rhode Island, where he previously served 21/2 years related to cocaine possession charges, according to court documents.

He was still on probation through August 2019 when he was arrested for the Springfield robberies in February, and was considered a fugitive because he could not check in with his parole officer from jail, Kainen said.

Kainen said that if Martin faces time in Rhode Island, he could ask to serve that concurrently with his Vermont sentence when he is sentenced.

Kainen said the outcome of Martin’s charges in Rhode Island will determine when he is sentenced in Vermont.

“Say he got two months in Rhode Island and then (is returned) to Vermont — in that case we would probably wait to do sentencing until he got back,” Kainen said. “If Rhode Island says, ‘We’re going to keep him for a year or two years’ ... then we would complete sentencing (over the phone).”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Martin was still awaiting extradition from Southern State Correctional Facility to Rhode Island, according to online Vermont inmate records.

As part of a plea deal, Kainen said two grand larceny charges, a violation of conditions of release and a misdemeanor drug charge will be dismissed at sentencing. Kainen said Martin has implicated his alleged getaway driver, George Tarbell, 30, of Jamaica, Vt., who has pleaded not guilty to assault and robbery in all three cases.

A voicemail left Wednesday afternoon for Martin’s attorney, Jordana Levine, was not returned.

Maggie Cassidy can be reached at mcassidy@vnews.com or 603-727-3220

http://www.vnews.com/news/18438575-95/weathersfield-man-pleads-guilty-to-bank-robberies