BIDDEFORD — The rash of robberies plaguing Biddeford and surrounding communities ended tragically Thursday night, when the 27-year-old suspect committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.
Tyler Trottier, of 12 King St., Biddeford, shot himself with the .40-caliber handgun believed to have been used in seven robberies in Biddeford, two robberies in Saco and a robbery in Arundel, said Police Chief Roger Beaupre in a press conference Friday.
Because of Trottier’s death, Beaupre said there are many unanswered questions in the case and that police may never know what prompted Trottier to commit his crimes.
However, Beaupre said, “I think there was desperation going on. He had some emotional issues going on in his past.”
There was no evidence of drugs in Trottier’s apartment, said Beaupre, but police have not ruled out drug use out as a possibility.
Trottier, who had only minor traffic infractions on his record, never raised to the level of being a “person of interest” in the crime spree until after the last robbery, at the May Mee House Chinese restaurant at 301 Main St., on Friday, that occurred at about 3:30 p.m., said Beaupre.
Unlike the other robberies, Friday’s incident took place during the day, so surveillance footage from video cameras set up in some of the Main Street businesses provided useful images, he said.
The images showed a man fleeing on foot from May Mee after the robbery occurred. Within seconds, video showed a silver-gray-tone 2006 GMC Sierra pick-up truck take off from Center St., and run through a stop sign at Jefferson and then Main Street, before losing sight of the truck.
“At that point, there was no particular suspect,” said Beaupre.
The police chief noted how mere seconds can make the difference in catching a robbery suspect. He said the video showed the truck going by City Hall, heading east on Main Street, and 15 seconds later police were heading in the opposite direction responding to a robbery call at the Chinese restaurant.
The video showed some distinctive objects in the back of the pick-up, said Beaupre, such as a bicycle. Using these identifiers, on Thursday evening a Biddeford detective saw the get-away-truck parked at the driveway at 12 King Ave.
Through tracing the vehicle’s registration, police found out the owner of the truck and Trottier’s cell phone number, said the police chief.
He said a Biddeford Police negotiator attempted to get Trottier to leave his apartment by using a ruse that the suspect’s vehicle had been involved in an accident and saying police wanted to talk to him about it.
Trottier said he saw a lot of police in the area, said Beaupre, as the State Police Rapid Response Team members and other officers surrounded and contained the area around the King Street apartment.
The negotiator again asked Trottier to come out of the building, said Beaupre.
Trottier told police he was sleeping and would put on some clothes and come out, said the chief.
Next, sometime between 10 and 11 p.m., officers heard what sounded like a gunshot and further calls to Trottier went unanswered, said Beaupre.
After securing a warrant, police entered Trottier’s residence around 1 a.m., where they found his body.
Beaupre said police had probable cause to get a warrant to Trottier’s apartment because the clothing items that had been described by the robbery victim at May Mee’s, such as a fatigue jacket and hat, were in the front seat of his truck.
On Friday morning, several King Street residents were gathered on the streets.
Many of Trottier’s neighbors said they didn’t know him well, but he seemed like a nice guy who kept to himself. Though none had suspected him in the robbery cases, one man, David ”“ who declined to give his last name ”“ who lived at 10 King St., said his girlfriend lived above Trottier. He said she told him that there was a lot of traffic at Trottier’s apartment and she thought something was going on.
Beaupre said the crime spree netted less than $4,000.
The chief said, “We can link (Trottier) for certain to six (robberies) in Biddeford, two in Saco and one in Arundel.”
He said he also believes Trottier was responsible for an attempted theft in Saco.
Trottier was not responsible for the robbery at the Family Dollar Store at 321 Elm St., on Monday in Biddeford, said Beaupre. Police are still investigating that crime, he said, adding, “We hope to conclude that one within the next day or two.”
According to Beaupre, more than 50 officers were staked out around Biddeford yesterday so they could quickly respond if another robbery took place. A task force had been formed to work on the case, which included Biddeford and Saco Police, the Maine State Police Rapid Response team, and the York County Sheriff’s Office. Officers from the Scarborough, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport police departments were also involved, said Beaupre, in the event the robberies had moved into that area.
In addition to the Thursday robbery at the May Mee House, other robberies attributed to Trottier in Biddeford include: D’Angelo’s, 352 Alfred St., on Tuesday; Tim Hortons at 426 Alfred St. on Sunday; the Yummy House Chinese restaurant at 20 Alfred St. also on Sunday; the Red Rocket Smoke Shop at 80 Birch St., on Nov. 30; and the Super Sub Shop at 69 Jefferson St. on Nov. 28.
Trottier is also attributed with committing robberies in Saco at the Beachway General Store at 153 Beach St., on Nov. 28; and at the Big Apple Citgo station, on Nov. 29; and an attempted theft at Luis’s Arepera Grill, located at 213 North St. in Saco.
In addition, he is believed to have committed a robbery that took place on Monday at the Arundel Market on Route 1 in Arundel.
Delilah Poupore, executive director of the downtown revitalization organization Heart of Biddeford, said she thinks business owners will be relieved now that the police have solved the case. She said that she hopes residents will unite around the business owners and show that fear won’t stop people from supporting downtown businesses.
Beaupre reminds anyone reporting a crime to call 911.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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