A man from St. Louis County, Missouri, has confessed to committing five bank robberies as well as one attempted robbery. Derrick Snulligan, 62, from Velda Village Hills, admitted to handing notes demanding cash from bank tellers in a series of crimes starting on April 18, 2023, in Northwoods, Missouri.
During an attempted robbery on October 13, 2023, Snulligan was deterred when a bank employee activated an alarm and ordered him to leave. In all the incidents, Snulligan concealed his identity by wearing a mask.
After the foiled attempt, Snulligan escalated the threats in his notes. "I[f] you don’t want to get hurt, go in your drawer and give me 6-one hundred dollar bills, 4-fifty dollar bills, 10-ten dollar bills, and 20-5 dollar bills as quickly as possible," read a note he presented on June 24, 2024, to a credit union employee in Hazelwood, leading to another successful heist.
Snulligan's crime spree continued three days later with robberies at a St. Louis credit union and a Florissant credit union, where he again issued demands for money. He fled in a blue car identified as a Buick Encore in both instances. Investigators linked the vehicle to him and he admitted to the robberies, returning part of the stolen money. It was also revealed that he is known by the alias Derrick Jackson.
Snulligan pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. His sentencing is scheduled for July 1, with each charge carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence. The FBI and several local police departments were involved in the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa handling the prosecution.
The case is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, which aims to reduce violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement and community organizations. This strategy, strengthened in May 2021, emphasizes trust, community involvement, strategic enforcement, and effectiveness evaluation.
