by VDC staff

State Police have arrested a Rutland-area transient in connection with an armed robbery and assault late Sunday night at Stewart’s Shop on Main Street in West Rutland.

Police said the incident occurred about 10:45 p.m. Aug. 17, when a hold-up alarm from the store brought troopers to the scene within minutes. Responding officers encountered Joel R. Gouin, 39, described by police as transient in the Rutland area, fleeing the shop while armed with a knife.

After a short foot chase, Gouin was taken into custody. Troopers recovered the knife and a silent-alarm pendant that had been forcibly removed from one of the employees during the robbery.

Detectives with the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations determined that Gouin brandished the knife at two store employees, identified as Leanna Mason, 25, and Dawn Pedro, 58. Police said one of the women suffered physical injuries. Gouin allegedly demanded cash and tried to take tobacco products before troopers intervened.

According to investigators, Gouin was already under 10 active sets of court-ordered release conditions from various divisions of Vermont Superior Court. At the time of the robbery, police said he was in violation of conditions that prohibited possession of a deadly weapon and required him to remain under a 24-hour curfew.

Gouin was jailed without bail at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility and is scheduled to be arraigned at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Rutland. He faces charges of assault and robbery causing injury, aggravated assault, and contempt of court.

In 2024, Gouin was arrested in February Newport for attempting to elude police in a stolen truck, shortly after he had been released from custody while facing burglary charges. A month earlier, he and a female accomplice were arrested after entering a Northeast Kingdom home (saying their car had broken down), then stealing tools and prescription drugs, police say.

In 2022 he was charged with recklessly shooting off a rifle and ramming into cars in Bethel, WCAX reported.

The Times-Argus reported in 2004 that Gouin, then 18, was charged with domestic assault, leaving the scene of an accident, and shooting up a car.

As the investigation continues, detectives are asking the public’s help in locating a backpack that Gouin may have dropped near Stewart’s Shop at 116 Main St. Anyone who sees a discarded backpack in the area is urged not to touch it and instead call the Rutland Barracks at 802-773-9101 or submit a tip anonymously at vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.