Four suspects have been indicted by the York County Grand Jury on charges of robbery with a firearm and conspiracy in relation to an alleged robbery in Saco in September. Top row, from left are Kayla Haley and Taylor Mann. Bottom row from left are Brian Patch and Eric Soletto. FILE PHOTO
ALFRED — The York County grand jury has handed up indictments for four suspects stemming from the alleged armed robbery of a 16-year-old outside a Dunkin’ Donuts in Saco in September.
According to Saco Police, the teenager was robbed at gunpoint Sept. 10 in an incident in Saco allegedly arranged by a co-worker as the victim removed trash from the doughnut shop.
At the time, Saco Police said in an affidavit filed in York County Superior Court that the victim had sold a gaming computer to a friend for $1,400 cash a few days before the robbery and had showed cash he had made from that transaction to several of his co-workers at the shop.
Information contained in the affidavit shows that the victim was robbed at gunpoint of $1,400 around 5:40 p.m. Sept. 10 outside the Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street in Saco, where he was working that evening.
Following an investigation, Saco Police arrested four people they say were involved in the alleged robbery including Eric Soletto, 25, of Biddeford, Taylor Mann, 22, of Biddeford, Brian Patch, 24, of Dayton, and Kayla Haley, 21, of Old Orchard Beach.
All four now face felony armed robbery with a firearm and conspiracy charges after being indicted by the grand jury earlier this month.
Through use of surveillance cameras, police were able to put together a timeline that showed that Mann, who also worked at Dunkin’ Donuts, and Patch allegedly left Dunkin’ Donuts and met near Patch’s car outside. When they returned to the shop, Patch began speaking to the victim.
Exactly 30 seconds later, a man approached on foot who police have identified as Soletto and entered Dunkin’ Donuts through the main door. He looked around inside and then left the shop to stand in a nearby parking lot. Mann allegedly then told the victim to take out the trash from the shop and police say that as the victim was leaving for the dumpster, Mann used his cellphone to text someone.
Police say Soletto then confronted the victim near the dumpster behind Dunkin’ Donuts and brandished a Glock-style handgun. He allegedly cocked the granite-colored slide and pointed it at the victim’s head.
“Give me what you have,” Soletto told the victim, according to the affidavit.
The victim, with his hands in the air, told Soletto there was plenty of money in the store.
“No, what you have on you,” Soletto said, pointing to the victim’s pocket.
The victim turned over the cash to the robber and returned to the Dunkin’ Donuts shop to report that he had been robbed. Police say Patch then told the victim he would go outside and search for the robber.
Piecing together surveillance footage from multiple businesses and locations surrounding Dunkin Donuts, investigators determined that following the robbery, Patch’s vehicle left the scene. He later admitted to detectives that he drove from Dunkin’ Donuts to Old Orchard Beach where he dropped off Soletto.
The role of the fourth suspect in the robbery, Haley, was unclear. She was not mentioned in the police report filed in Soletto’s case.
The four suspects will stand trial later this year on the charges.
— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com
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