Derrick Rivera, a 22-year-old resident of Bridgeport, was sentenced on Mar. 16 to 12 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release for committing two armed robberies at local businesses in 2022, according to David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
The sentencing follows Rivera's guilty plea to charges including interference with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act and carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. The case highlights the serious consequences faced by individuals who commit violent crimes involving firearms.
Court documents show that on November 11, 2022, Rivera entered a barbershop on Wood Avenue in Bridgeport while brandishing a firearm. He robbed an employee and two customers before fleeing the scene. Two weeks later, on November 25, Rivera robbed a restaurant on Wade Street. During this incident, he pointed a gun at the owner behind the register, demanded cash, and fired twice as he fled. One bullet struck the digital display of the cash register, causing shattered glass and plastic along with a shell casing to injure the owner's face, eye, hand, and stomach.
In a victim impact statement presented during sentencing, the restaurant owner said that trauma from the robbery and shooting forced him to sell his business: "the trauma he suffers from the robbery and shooting forced him to sell the restaurant." Rivera has been detained since his arrest on November 25, 2023.
The investigation was conducted by the Bridgeport Police Department, Stratford Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins prosecuted the case.
The outcome underscores law enforcement efforts to address violent crime in Bridgeport through coordinated investigations between local police departments and federal agencies.
