The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that a 58-year-old man has been indicted on charges related to the armed robbery of a store at Westfarms in July 2024.

By Ronni Newton

A 58-year-old Connecticut man was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Haven on April 16 on charges related to an armed robbery of the Sunglass Hut store at Westfarms on July 15, 2o24, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Marc H. Silverman and Special Agent James Ferguson of the ATF Boston Field Division announced in a news release on Thursday.

Willie White, 58, has been detained since his arrest by West Hartford Police on July 15, 2024, with his bail set at $500,000 by the court.

Officials said that White, who lists previous addresses of Bristol, New Britain, and Hartford, allegedly stole multiple pairs of designer sunglasses from the Sunglass Hut store and brandished a Glock pistol during the commission of the robbery.

He was arrested by West Hartford Police and according to online court documents charged in this incident with third-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny, stealing a firearm, criminal use of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, use of a machine gun in a violent crime, first-degree robbery with the threat of a firearm and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery with the threat of a firearm, and illegal sale of purchase of a large-capacity magazine. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the maximum term of imprisonment for the Hobbs Act robbery (interfering with commerce by robbery) is 20 years, and the charge of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence carries a minimum term of imprisonment of seven years and a maximum of life. The charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.

On Thursday, White pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“White’s criminal history includes more than 15 felony convictions for drug, robbery, burglary, and other offenses,” Thursday’s announcement stated. “It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce. White was on state supervision, including GPS monitoring, at the time of the offense.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is handling the investigation of this incident, with the assistance of the West Hartford Police Department and the New Britain Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shan Patel is prosecuting the case.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”

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