New York Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Week-Long Armed Robbery Spree

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FRANCIS MANIGAULT, 42, of New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 168 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for committing five armed robberies during one week last summer.

According to court documents and statements made in court, MANIGAULT, armed with and brandishing a firearm, robbed George’s Market at 175 Pequonnock Street in Bridgeport on June 27, 2015; B & M Grocery and Deli at 942 East Main Street in Bridgeport on June 28; Rodriguez Market at 384 Brooks Street in Bridgeport on June 29; a Subway restaurant at 1552 Wood Avenue in Bridgeport on June 29, and West Main Street Grocery at 495 West Main Street in Stamford on July 1.

After the July 1 robbery, Stamford Police, responding to 911 calls, encountered MANIGAULT on Virgil Street and observed him throwing a handgun to the ground.  He was apprehended shortly thereafter and placed under arrest.  Officers then recovered a loaded 40mm handgun that MANIGAULT had discarded.  The firearm was previously reported stolen in North Carolina.

MANIGAULT has been detained since his arrest.  On October 19, 2015, he pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Stamford Police Department and the Bridgeport Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy C. Brown.