Norwalk man sentenced to 3 years in Stamford Barnes & Noble robbery
STAMFORD — A 38year-old Norwalk man was sentenced to three years in jail followed by special parole after he pleaded guilty to robbing a Stamford Barnes & Noble in 2021.
Judge Kevin Randolph sentenced Michael Larocco to three years in jail and seven years of special parole, in accordance with an agreement with state prosecutors, during a disposition hearing at state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday afternoon.
Under the agreement, Larocco pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, breach of peace and loitering on school grounds back in December 2022.
Larocco, who has been in jail since his arrest, only has about 6 months left on his sentence, Supervisory State’s Attorney Michelle Manning said during Wednesday’s hearing.
Public defender Benjamin Aponte, who represented Larocco, said his client has been doing better since being in custody and his acts were a result of “untreated mental health issues.”
Larocco was arrested by Stamford police in October 2021 for a robbery at the Barnes & Noble located in Stamford Town Center.
According to Capt. Richard Conklin at the time, Larocco walked into the store on Oct. 9 and allegedly slipped a note to the cashier asking for money.
Conklin said the robber told the cashier he had a gun and demanded $100 from the cash register.
Larocco, who police said was homeless, was arrested by Stamford police a day later after an unrelated incident in which he allegedly threatened to hurt a woman on Bedford Street when she wouldn’t give him any money. He was charged with seconddegree threatening and breach of peace in that incident.
Using surveillance footage of the bookstore robbery, investigators determined Larocco, who was in custody at the Bridgeport Correctional Center for the unrelated Bedford Street incident, was involved in the Oct. 9 robbery.
Larocco was also facing a loitering charge for an incident on Oct. 8 when he was chased off school property by an employee at Side By Side School on Chestnut Street in Norwalk.