Hamden Man Sentenced For Armed Robbery Of Post Office, Bank

HAMDEN, CT — A Hamden man with an extensive criminal history, including multiple robbery convictions, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for the armed robberies of the Allingtown Post Office in West Haven and the Wells Fargo Bank in Hamden in April 2016, according to authorities. Derrick White, also known as “Fly,” 53, was sentenced Tuesday in Hartford federal court to 188 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham announced in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on the morning of April 21, 2016, White, Malcolm Haynes, Howard Bookert and another man drove in White’s vehicle to the vicinity of the Allingtown Post Office located at 75 Farwell Avenue in West Haven. White, Bookert and Haynes, who was armed with a .22-caliber rifle, then entered the post office.

“Haynes pointed the rifle at individuals who were in the lobby and the clerk behind the counter and directed them to stay away from the door,” the States Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release. “White then hopped over the counter, waved the postal clerk away from her station, removed the cash drawer from the counter and handed it to Bookert. The robbers then fled with the drawer, which contained approximately $491.”

Later that day, the men drove to the Wells Fargo Bank, located at 1647 Whitney Avenue in Hamden, and Haynes, again armed with the rifle, White and the other man entered the bank. Haynes pointed the rifle in the direction of various employees as White went behind the counter and removed approximately $9,287 from teller drawers, according to authorities. During the robbery, the other man brandished what appeared to be a small black semi-automatic pistol, authorities said.

White and Bookert were apprehended in New Haven on April 21, 2016. On that date, investigators recovered the firearm that Haynes used during the robberies, which Haynes had hidden in a plastic garbage bag behind a house in New Haven. Haynes was arrested on May 23, 2016. The three defendants have been detained since their arrests.

On January 25, 2017, White pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery. Haynes, of New Haven, and Bookert, of Hamden, previously pleaded guilty to related federal charges, and the fourth man was charged by the state.

On May 3, 2017, Haynes was sentenced to 90 months in prison. On August 31, 2017, Bookert was sentenced to approximately 16 months of imprisonment, time served.

White’s criminal history spans more than 30 years and includes 10 prior convictions, including multiple robbery convictions. In 1982, he shot an individual in the stomach and arm in a dispute over stolen gold chains, according to authorities.

Image via Shutterstock