New Haven Man Admits to Armed Robbery of Hamden Store

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DARIS SNOW, also known as “Eagle,” 25, of New Haven, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to a federal robbery charge stemming from the armed robbery of a Hamden store in April 2016.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 4:22 p.m. on April 27, 2016, two men and two women, who had their head and faces partially concealed, entered the Game X Change in Hamden.  One of the men pulled out a gun and ordered the store’s three employees to get down on the ground.  The man with the gun put his foot on an employee’s back and pressed the gun against the employee’s head and neck, threatening to kill the employee if he did not give him money and the keys to the display case.  The employee complied and the four suspects took several items, including cellular telephones, an iPad, an iPod, “Beats” headphones, and a cash box that contained $830.  The four ran out of the store to a waiting car.

Investigators subsequently identified SNOW as one of the four individuals who committed the armed robbery of the store, and learned that SNOW had made threatening statements to and about a woman who participated in the robbery with him.  SNOW was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on June 2, 2017.

SNOW pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act Robbery, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Arterton scheduled sentencing for February 16, 2018.

SNOW has been detained since his arrest.

Four other individuals have been charged as a result of this investigation.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hamden Police Department, with the assistance of the New Haven Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.