Judge adds 6 months to sentence after obscene outburst

Nicholas Trabakoulos did not go gently into a lengthy prison sentence.

The 32-year-old former Groton resident has misbehaved during a series of court appearances on robbery and firearms charges. He cursed at Judge Susan B. Handy during one appearance and demanded that the prosecutor in his case identify himself.

A few months ago, correction officers in tactical gear began accompanying him on his trips from Northern Correctional Institution, the state's super-max prison for problem offenders, to court in New London after the department discovered he had written about an escape plan in a letter to a friend.

This morning, Trabakoulos unleashed a stream of obscenities as the judge was about to sentence him to 14 years in prison for first-degree robbery and illegal possession of a firearm. The state's attorney and defense lawyer had concluded their comments when Handy asked Trabakoulos if he had anything to say. His responses are unprintable. The judge ordered the correction officers and marshals who accompanied him to remove him from the courtroom.

Two hours later, Trabakoulos was once again brought before the judge. She gave him the opportunity to apologize, which he declined, so she added six months to his sentence for contempt of court.

"Your behavior earlier this morning was outrageous," Handy said. "I had you removed from the courtroom because I do not tolerate that kind of behavior."

The judge described the tirade as "not only hostile, but obscene and profane." She sentenced him to 14 ½ years in prison followed by six years of special parole, saying he is a threat to public safety who needs to incarcerated for a long period of time. Then she ordered him removed from the courtroom.

Trabakoulos was visiting relatives in Groton while living in New York last fall, used a 12-gauge Remington shotgun, its barrel sawed off, to rob a man of about $140 at the intersection of Depot Road and Quincy Court on Sept. 26, 2008, according to court documents. His girlfriend told police he left the house where they were staying to find a victim. He rode away on a bicycle, carrying the shotgun under a pink towel.

He met a man who knew him from the neighborhood at Sully's Cafe and enticed him to meet him on the street to purchase some cocaine, police said. The victim told police Trabakoulos pulled the gun, racked a round into the chamber, and demanded money. He then told the victim to run, and rode off on his bicycle.