Bridgeport Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for 2 Gunpoint Robberies in Bridgeport (DOJ)

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DERRICK RIVERA, 22, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 144 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for committing two armed robberies of Bridgeport businesses in 2022.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 11, 2022, Rivera, brandishing a firearm, entered a barbershop located on Wood Avenue in Bridgeport. Rivera then robbed an employee and two customers of cash and fled the barbershop.

On November 25, 2022, Rivera robbed a restaurant located on Wade Street in Bridgeport. During the robbery, Rivera pointed a firearm at the owner, who was behind the register, and demanded cash. Rivera reached across the counter, grabbed the cash and, while fleeing, fired twice in the direction of the owner and other employees. One of the bullets passed through the digital display of the cash register. Shattered pieces of glass and plastic from the register and a shell casing caused injuries to the owner's face, eye, hand, and stomach.

In a victim impact statement, the restaurant owner stated that 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. On October 23, 2025, he pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery) and one count of carrying, using, and count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

This matter was investigated by the Bridgeport Police Department, the Stratford Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.