By Scott Monroe
Staff Writer

PITTSFIELD $ A Pittsfield couple were arrested over the weekend for allegedly attempting to rob a woman at her apartment.

Elizabeth Tonfino, 40, was charged with Robbery Class A and Robert E. Burt, 34, was charged with Armed Robbery Class A. Officer Greg Sides of the Pittsfield Police Department got the call around 4:30 Saturday afternoon. He responded to a residence at Deer Hill Apartments off North Maine Street.

Sides said he met with a female victim in her early 20s who had minor injuries; the suspects had already left. The victim, along with some witnesses, identified Tonfino and Burt as the robbery suspects, police allege.

"They were acquaintances; they had met each other before," Sides said. "It seems that (Tonfino and Burt) felt she had money because of what her last name was and it seems like it might have been planned."

Tonfino and Burt were let into the apartment, Sides said, and Burt allegedly took out a knife. They demanded money. "They were going to take whatever they could get," Sides said.

Tonfino and Burt were there for about 10 minutes and during that time they "roughed up" the female victim and left with a small amount of money, Sides said. Her injuries were minor and so she was not taken to a hospital, Sides said.
Because the victim and other witnesses "knew exactly who it was" at the incident, Sides said he easily caught up with both suspects later that evening.

Both suspects have "an extensive" criminal record, he said.
Both were in court Monday and held on bail. Tonfino's was $1,000 and Burt's was $5,000.

Scott Monroe, 487-3288, 861-9253
smonroe@centralmaine.com