Surveillance video from one of the 2022 robberies.
BRIDGEPORT – A career criminal who held a 12-year-boy at knifepoint while robbing a cash register was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison March 5.
Lonny Cross, 46, of Bristol, showed “disdain for the victims’ humanity and the rule of law,” according to a memo submitted to the court by Acting U.S. Attorney Marc H. Silverman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.
Cross robbed 35 gas stations, convenience stores and liquor stores during a spree in September and October 2022, including the Henny Penny on Route 67 in Seymour. He also had two attempted robberies.
He stole more than $58,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut.
Prosecutors pointed out it was Cross’ third robbery spree. He was previously sentenced to 25 years total for his past crimes, with a criminal conviction history dating back to 1995.
Authorities said Cross showed no sign of slowing down after his prison time, despite reaching middle age. He was 44 when arrested in 2022 – and was on parole.
“Cross’s history paints a disturbing picture,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “He has been incarcerated for almost all his adult life. In the short periods he’s been at liberty, he has resorted to violent crime sprees.”
Evidence against Cross included video from a robbery where he pulled a knife on a 12-year-old boy in a business while the boy’s father was in the back of the store. The Valley Indy isn’t publishing the name or location of the business.
“What does a 12-year-old boy think about when a large, strange man robs him at knifepoint at his father’s store?” prosecutors asked in a section of their memo dealing with victim impact. “What impact does such an outrageous crime have on that child? Time will tell.”
Cross started his 2022 spree using a knife, then switched to a pellet gun that looked like a traditional handgun. Authorities said he threatened to kill the employees of the places he robbed, even saying he would come back to kill them if they called the police.
His accomplice was Rebecca Barbera, who would sometimes case the places before Cross entered. She would provide him with information such as how many employees and customers were in the businesses. She awaits sentencing for her crimes.
Authorities said a break in the case came after a Port Chester, N.Y. gas station robbery on Oct. 13, 2022 – a day Cross robbed seven businesses from Waterbury to Port Chester.
A homeowner’s surveillance camera captured Cross running from the scene into a 4‑door sedan. Then, an automatic license plate reader captured a partial plate, which investigators were able to trace back to Cross’ residence in Bristol.
He was arrested Oct. 14, 2022.
Search warrants used to access his residence and vehicles turned up drugs, a knife, and clothes believed to have been used in the robberies. Authorities believe the pellet gun used was tossed out of a vehicle and into a highway median.
Investigators – a task force from the FBI was created to catch Cross – also obtained search warrants for his cell phones. Data from the phones put him in the area at the time of the robberies, along with Internet searches such as “gas stations near me” and “Fairfield County gas stations.”
Cross robbed businesses 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, and Port Chester.
According to a press release, the investigation was conducted by the FBI, Connecticut State Police, the Orange Police Department, the Port Chester Police Department, numerous other municipal police departments, and agents from state parole.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruff prosecuted the case.
