On September 12, 2024, Sullivan County District Attorney, Brian P. Conaty, announced that a Sullivan County Jury found Bryan Robinson, 37, guilty of Robbery in the First Degree, a Class B Violent Felony; Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a Class D Felony, and; Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E Felony, following a three-day trial.

The jury found that on September 17, 2023, Robinson forcibly stole U.S. Currency and cigarettes from the Citgo Gas Station on State Route 42 in Monticello while armed with a knife and threatening to stab the establishment’s employee unless he acquiesced. The jury further found that the total monetary loss to the gas station exceeded one thousand dollars ($1,000).

Robinson, who has two prior violent felony convictions, faces 25 years to life in state prison as a Persistent Violent Felony Offender and is due to be sentenced on November 4, 2024. This case was prosecuted at trial by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Puma with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Danielle K. Blackaby. Robinson was represented by attorneys Joel Proyect and Glenn Kroll. Sullivan County Court Judge James R. Farrell presided over the trial.

Robinson’s arrest followed a four-month investigation by Sergeant Mendez of the Monticello Police Department into the masked robbery. Robinson was eventually identified when he was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant previously issued by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Sullivan County District Attorney Brian P. Conaty said: “The People of the Village of Monticello should be free to go about their lives, work days, and to own businesses which build our community up without fear of violence and theft. I serve the Sullivan County community each and every day and my office remains committed to removing violent criminals from our streets. I want to thank the Sullivan County Jury for their attention and dedication to this case.  Their verdict reaffirms the voice of Sullivan County that if you engage in violent and dangerous acts for your own personal self-interest at the expense of our community you will be held accountable.  I also want to thank the members of the Monticello Police Department and District Attorney’s Office Investigators for their dedicated efforts in this investigation to bring the defendant to justice.”