Two New Haven Men Guilty of Robbing Naugatuck Bank

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal jury in Hartford has found MICHAEL MASSEY, 29, of New Haven, guilty of one count of armed bank robbery and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The trial began on Monday, December 14, before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny, and the jury returned its verdict this afternoon after approximately two hours of deliberation.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, on September 22, 2008, MASSEY and DEVON PATTERSON used violence, force, or intimidation and took approximately $24,178 from the Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan on New Haven Road in Naugatuck. On that date, shortly after noon, the two disguised men went into the bank. MASSEY brandished a semiautomatic pistol at bank employees and customers while PATTERSON leapt over the teller counter and stuffed money from the teller drawers into a bag. The two men left the bank, drove a red getaway car to a second, silver getaway car, and transferred the bank’s money into the second car. Naugatuck Police responded to a 911 call and engaged PATTERSON and MASSEY in a high-speed chase before they crashed the second car and were apprehended. A search of the getaway car revealed money from the bank, the gun, and other physical evidence.

Judge Chatigny has scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2010, at which time MASSEY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 25 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the armed bank robbery charge, and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of at least five years, consecutive to the term imposed on the bank robbery charge, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

PATTERSON, 31, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery on December 14 at the conclusion of the first day of the trial. When he is sentenced, he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 25 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was investigated by the Naugatuck Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David T. Huang and Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher W. Schmeisser.