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Hartford County resident Lonny Cross, age 45, of Bristol, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 21, for the crimes that ranged from Hartford to Fairfield County and one in New York in September and October 2022, said Vanessa Roberts Avery, US Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Cross committed 37 robberies and attempted robberies of gas station convenience stores, mini-markets, and liquor stores in North Branford, Waterbury, Wolcott, Plymouth, New Haven, North Haven, Orange, West Haven, Wethersfield, Bristol, Southington, Naugatuck, Watertown, Franklin, Norwich, Waterford, Groton City, Stonington, Ledyard, Darien, Norwalk, Stratford, and Seymour, Connecticut, and in Westchester County New York in Port Chester.
Several of the robberies occurred on the same day, only minutes apart. Cross typically traveled to the victim store with an accomplice who would sometimes enter the store to determine the number of employees and customers, exit the store, and then report that information to Cross.
Cross then entered the store, displayed a knife or facsimile firearm while threatening employees, and stole cash and other items, court documents show.
In October 2022, investigators conducted court-authorized searches of Cross’s residence and a black 2014 Chevrolet Impala that Cross was known to drive.
The search of the residence revealed clothing consistent with clothing worn by Cross in several of the robberies, as well as quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, and narcotics paraphernalia, court records showed.
A search of the car revealed 120 bags of heroin, 14 grams of crack, and a knit hat matching the description of one worn by Cross during a robbery the day before.
Cross, who was on state parole, was arrested on state charges and has been detained since his arrest.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of Hobbs Act Robbery.
Cross faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.
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