New Haven Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Robbery of Naugatuck Bank

April 17, 2010 - Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL MASSEY, 29, of New Haven, was sentenced yesterday, April 15, by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 152 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in an armed robbery of a Naugatuck bank. On December 16, 2009, a federal jury found MASSEY guilty of one count of armed bank robbery and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, on September 22, 2008, MASSEY and Devon Patterson robbed the Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan on New Haven Road in Naugatuck of approximately $24,178. On that date, shortly after noon, the two disguised men entered 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 their getaway car to a second getaway car, and transferred the bank’s money into the second car. Naugatuck Police responded to a 911 call and engaged MASSEY and Patterson in a high-speed chase before they crashed the car and were apprehended. A search of the second getaway car revealed money from the bank, the gun, and other physical evidence.

Yesterday, Judge Chatigny sentenced MASSEY to 68 months of imprisonment on the armed bank robbery charge, and a mandatory seven-year consecutive prison term for brandishing 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. He awaits sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Naugatuck Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the North Branford and Branford Police Departments and the Connecticut State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David T. Huang and Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher W. Schmeisser.