Crime & Safety

Judge: Alleged Armed Gunman Held Up String of Stores To Feed Heroin Habit

Family and friends sobbing, Tromblee was held on $250,000 cash bail and $500,000 bond.

A Manorville man charged with a string of armed robberies was stealing to support his heroin habit, according to Judge John Iliou, who unsealed his indictment on Friday.

Paul Tromblee, 35, of Manorville, was indicted on nine charges of robbery in the first degre, a felony, and one count of robbery in the third degree, a felony. He was held on $250,000 cash bail and $500,000 bond, according to the judge.

Attorney Steven M. Politi of Central Islip represented Tromblee and entered a not guilty plea; he will pursue a jury trial, he said.

According to Assistant District Attorney Trisha Burrows, Tromblee allegedly engaged in "a pattern" during a string of robberies across Suffolk County that began on Oct. 30 and continued through Nov. 7, including a Calverton armed robbery and the hold-up of the Mattituck Game Stop.

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Tromblee, Burrows said, would typically enter a store and pretend to purchase an item such as a bottle of water, and pay. When the cashier opened the register, Burrows alleged, Tromblee would display what appeared to be a handgun and demand cash from the register; he would also ask the clerk to lift the drawer to take whatever cash was underneath.

Burrows said Tromblee had provided written and oral confessions; she said a hypodermic needle was found when he was arrested. In addition, she said, clothing found at the time of his arrest was consistent with what was seen in a number of videotapes of the alleged crimes. He was also identified during a line-up, she said.

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The alleged gun was never found, Burrow said; Tromblee told her it was  BB gun, she said, but that would not affect the charges.

Politi asked for $200,000 bail, stating that Tromblee was the father of an eight-year-old child, with a large support group of family and friends.

His mother and other loved ones wept visibly during the proceedings.

In addition, Politi said, the defendant had only one other prior conviction, from 1998, for attempted robbery in the second degree.  

The allegations, Politi said, "are far different from the person everyone knows," and out of character.

The judge countered that while every defendant is innocent until proven guilty, based on the number of charge and separate incidents, it appeared that Tromblee was "dope sick." When people are addicted to heroin, he said, "They do things that are out of character."

Judge Iliou said he considered Tromblee a flight risk and said he though Burrows would have requested an even higher bail amount. He ordered the requested $250,000 cash bail or $500,000 bond.

Tromblee is due back in court on Dec. 18. If convicted, he faces 25 years in jail.

After an intensive manhunt, the armed robber who held up the Mattituck Game Stop at gunpoint was caught — and he is believed to be the same suspect charged in a string of Suffolk County hold-ups.

According to Southold Town Police and Suffolk County Police, Tromblee was charged with a string of armed robberies across Suffolk County over the past two weeks, including one at a Calverton Hess station..

Suffolk County police said they arrested Tromblee on Sunrise Highway in Brookhaven. 

Since Oct. 26, gas stations in Calverton, Mastic, North Babylon, St. James, Dix Hills, and Bohemia as well as Jamba Juice in Stony Brook, Kissed by the Sun Tanning in Islip, and CVS Pharmacy in Lake Ronkonkoma were robbed by an armed suspect who demanded cash after pretending to purchase merchandise, police said.

Utilizing video surveillance as well as tips, including information received through the Crime Stoppers number, police said pattern crime unit detectives identified Tromblee.

He was located by detectives on Saturday while he was driving on Sunrise Highway in Brookhaven. 

Southold Town police said the armed robbery of the Game Stop in Mattituck on Tuesday was cleared on Saturday with Tromblee's arrest. Early in the investigation of the robbery of the Game Stop on Nov. 5, Southold detectives and their counterparts in Suffolk County considered that they may be looking at the same suspect, police said.

Upon his arrest yesterday by Suffolk police, Southold detectives were contacted and took action to complete their investigation. 

After the robbery, a young clerk shared his terrifying ordeal with Patch.


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