A Schenectady woman has pleaded guilty for her role in the shooting of a state trooper in Duanesburg in June 2023.

Alicia Eriole, 31, was the girlfriend of Nelson Troche, 32, who fired a gun at a trooper after a traffic stop on I-88. They both fled from the scene and Troche and later died by suicide as investigators were closing in on his location.

The chaotic incident on June 16, 2023 started when Trooper Richard Albert stopped Eriole for driving a Honda Pilot more than 110 mph.

Troche, in the passenger seat, reached across Eriole to extend his gun out of the driver’s window and shot Albert in the left shoulder.

The shooting caused a chain-reaction collision, as a passing pickup truck stopped to avoid the gunfire and log truck tractor-trailer rear-ended the truck, police said. 

Eriole and Troche attempted to get away, when the log truck driver intentionally rammed the vehicle to stop it. Eriole and Troche fled on foot.

Despite being injured, Albert followed the pair and exchanged gunfire with Troche.

They then forced the driver of the pickup truck out of the vehicle and attempted to carjack it. However, it was too damaged to drive, the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office said.

Eriole and Troche then ran into the wooded area off the Darby Hill Road in Duanesburg. As troopers closed in on their location, Troche died by suicide.

Eriole had been charged with robbery, weapons possession and criminal facilitation. She had been scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 30.

As part of an agreement with prosecutors, she admitted to helping Troche in the moments before the shooting. She pleaded guilty to the criminal facilitation charge in exchange for a sentence of 4 to 12 years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5.

Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney issued a statement on her guilty plea.

“Ms. Eriole was not armed and there is no proof that she helped plan the shooting, but at every step of the way she helped her boyfriend, including by reclining her driver’s seat to enable Mr. Troche to reach across and shoot Trooper Albert,” he said in a statement.

Carney went on to commend Albert for his actions that day.

“Throughout that terrifying encounter, Trooper Albert acted with courage, resilience and professionalism. We are all fortunate that he is today alive and well.”