Man Charged in String of Armed Robberies Held on $1 Million Bail

A Manorville man charged with a string of armed robberies is being held at Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside on $1 million cash bail, or a $3 million bond, officials said.

According to representatives for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, Paul Tromblee, 35, pled guilty when he was arrested Saturday. He is due back in court on Friday, but an arraignment date has not yet been set.

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

"We fully anticipate him being charged with the robbery at the Game Stop," Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley said Tuesday.

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, police said Sunday.

Suffolk County police said they arrested Tromblee on Sunrise Highway in Brookhaven on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. 

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. 

Tromblee was charged with eight counts of robbery first degree, a felony, and one count of robbery in the third degree, a felony, and was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday.

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.

Additional charges for Tromblee are forthcoming regarding the Game Stop robbery in Southold Town, police said.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.