Lonny Cross, Violent Robbery, Connecticut 2022

In a shocking display of brazen criminality, Lonny Cross, a 45-year-old resident of Bristol, Connecticut, has pleaded guilty to a string of violent robberies that terrorized gas stations and convenience stores across the state in September and October 2022.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between September 5 and October 13, 2022, Cross committed 37 robberies and attempted robberies of gas station convenience stores, mini-markets, and liquor stores in multiple municipalities, including 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 Port Chester, New York.

Cross’s modus operandi typically involved an accomplice who would scope out the store, providing Cross with information on the number of employees and customers present. Cross would then enter the store, display a knife or facsimile firearm while threatening employees, and steal cash and other items.

On October 14, 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. A search of the car revealed 120 bags heroin, approximately 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 at the time, was arrested on state charges on October 14, 2022, and has been detained since. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of Hobbs Act Robbery. Judge Kari A. Dooley scheduled sentencing for August 21, at which time Cross faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Connecticut State Police, Orange Police Department, Port Chester (N.Y.) Police Department, and numerous other police departments from the municipalities where the robberies occurred, with the assistance of Connecticut State Parole. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.

As a result of his guilty plea, Cross’s fate hangs in the balance, with a possible 40-year prison sentence looming large. The people of Connecticut can breathe a collective sigh of relief, knowing that justice is being served.

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