REPEAT OFFENDER ON PAROLE CHARGED WITH VIOLATING ABUSE PREVENTION ORDER
By Gregory J. Lamoureux
County Courier
ST. ALBANS: Joshua T. Rocheleau, 28, of St. Albans was arrested early Friday morning on charges that he violated an abuse prevention order earlier in the month.
According to court records, Rocheleau confronted his ex-girlfriend who had an abuse prevention order filed against him more than a year ago.
That order came about from a previous domestic assault in which Rocheleau was convicted and is currently a sentence that could keep him behind bars until 2024.
Because Rocheleau had reached his minimum, he had been released on Parole, giving him the opportunity to stalk his ex-partner.
The victim in the case, who the County Courier has decided not to identify, told police that Rocheleau approached her at the Family Dollar in downtown St. Albans, wanting to talk to her.
The victim was inside her vehicle as Rochleau allegedly rode his bicycle around her vehicle several times as he tried to convince the female to talk with him.
Police responded to the area, and took a statement from the female who said in part, “I was super scared of how unpredictable and violent he can be.”
Late Thursday evening, a St. Albans Police Officer knowledgeable with the case saw Rocheleau and knew him to be wanted in questioning with the incident. As that officer tried to confront Rocheleau, he retreated into his parents’ home on Walnut Street.
Police tried to coax Rochleau out but were not successful, so they sought a search warrant for the home. Once inside, the officers were unable to locate Rocheleau “due to the mass clutter of the residence,” according to court records.
St. Albans police then contacted Vermont State Police for a K9 unit to respond. Once that K9 began searching the home, Rocheleau came out from a garbage can just outside the back door of the residence, one officer said in a written statement.
“Joshua stated that he gave up from hiding in order to avoid being bitten by the K9,” wrote Officer Ferguson’s written affidavit filed on Friday.
Rocheleau was serving parole for a conviction of aggravated domestic assault, one of at least three domestic assault convictions on his record, so he was ordered back to prison pending a review by the parole board. His maximum release date is March 15th, 2024. However, he could, and is likely to be released sooner by the parole board.
