A Monroe woman is a suspect in the gunpoint robbery of Gene's Automotive last week, thanks to a customer who followed and wrote down the information on the getaway car, Trumbull Police said.
Patricia Mercaldi, 29, of Turkey Roost Road, is charged with third-degree larceny in a separate incident but has not been charged in the Nov. 15 Trumbull robbery yet. She may also be involved in a string of other robberies in Bridgeport, Monroe, Stratford and Shelton, police said.
Police said they suspect Mercaldi was the getaway driver when an unidentified male entered Gene's Autmotive, brandished a firearm and demanded cash. The clerk complied, and the male entered a waiting car and fled.
A customer then followed the car and took down its details, including the license plate, police said. Using the information, police had a suspect identified in 27 hours, said Deputy Police Chief Michael Harry.
The male is also in custody but has not been identified pending formal charges, police said.
Mercaldi has also been accused of stealing and pawning jewelry valued at more than $3,500 from a Trumbull home where she was staying.
On the larceny charge, she has been released on a written promise to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on Dec. 18.
