BRATTLEBORO — Police arrested a previously unidentified suspect wanted in connection to a robbery and two assaults on Elliot Street.
Police located the suspect, Patrick Wayne Poillon, on Aug. 3 hiding in the bedroom closet of an Elliot Street residence.
According to court documents, suspect Poillon was arraigned on three counts. The first, a felony, assault and robbery with injury. The other two, are misdemeanors - simple assault and aggravated disorderly conduct, including being maliciously motivated by the victim's perceived race.
On July 31, Poillon, 22, allegedly fled the scene after he and alleged girlfriend Mariam J. Belarj robbed and assaulted Brandon Porter outside the Indo Market on Elliot Street.
According to an affidavit by Brattleboro Police Officer Matt Petlock, Poillon also allegedly punched a bystander, Shela Linton, in the head and called her “nigger!” after Belarj yelled similar slurs at Linton who is a woman of color.
In his affidavit, Petlock wrote that Dover Police Sgt. Mike Arbogast contacted Brattleboro Police to help identify Poillon on Aug. 1. According to Petlock, Arbogast recognized a photo of Poillon as the man who bit him two years ago during a transfer to Southern State Correction Facility in Springfield.
The Deerfield Valley News wrote about the 2014 incident. According to the newspaper, Arbogast and a fellow officer were driving Poillon to Springfield after he was arrested for vehicle theft and assault.
While en route, Poillon repeatedly bashed his head against the cruiser's passenger window and steel grid separating the front and back of the cruiser until he started to bleed. Arbogast attempted to restrain Poillon and was bitten by the suspect.
In the early hours of Aug. 3, Petlock wrote that Charles Cassell, 25, who said he knew Poillon from jail, approached Petlock on Elliot Street and told him Poillon was at 172 Elliot St.
Petlock wrote, “Cassell told me that he did not like the fact that Patrick assaulted a female.”
“Poillon was apprehended, after finding him and Belarj hiding in a bedroom closet,” Petlock wrote. “Poillon was arrested without incident.”
According to court documents dated Aug. 3, Poillon was ordered held at the Southern State Correction Facility because he could not comply with his conditions of release which included paying a Surety Bond or cash in the amount of $10,000.
Police had previously arrested Belarj shortly after the assaults took place on July 31.