Robbery Accomplice Sentenced to 2 Years in Federal Prison

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that REBECCA BARBERA, 44, of Guilford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 24 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for assisting the commission of numerous violent robberies across Connecticut in September and October 2022.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between September 5 and October 13, 2022, Barbera's associate, Lonny Cross, committed 37 robberies and attempted robberies of gas station convenience stores, mini-markets, and liquor stores in North Branford, Waterbury, Wolcott, Plymouth, New Haven, North Haven, Orange, West Haven, Wethersfield, Bristol, Southington, Naugatuck, Watertown, Franklin, Norwich, Waterford, Groton City, Stonington, Ledyard, Darien, Norwalk, Stratford, and Seymour, Connecticut, and Port Chester, New York. In total, Cross stole more than $58,000 in cash. Several of the robberies occurred on the same day, only minutes apart.

For at least 24 of the robberies, Cross traveled to the store with Barbera, who would sometimes enter the store to determine the number of employees and customers in the store, exit the store, and then report that information to Cross. Cross then entered the store, displayed a knife or facsimile firearm while threatening employees with statements including "I know where you work" and "if you call the police I'll come back and blow your head off," and stole cash and other items.

Cross grabbed some victims and held a knife to them. During a robbery in Wethersfield on September 24, 2022, Cross threatened the 12-year-old son of the store owner with a knife and robbed the register. The boy was alone behind the counter while his father was in a back office when Cross entered the store.

On October 14, 2022, investigators conducted court-authorized searches of Cross's residence and a black 2014 Chevrolet Impala that Cross was known to drive. The search of the residence revealed clothing consistent with clothing worn by Cross in several of the robberies, as well as quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, and narcotics paraphernalia. A search of the car revealed 120 bags heroin, approximately 14 grams of crack, and a knit hat matching the description of one worn by Cross during a robbery the day before. Cross, who was on state parole for prior robbery convictions, was arrested on state charges on that date. The morning after his arrest, from jail, Cross directed Barbera and others to go to a storage unit and dispose of a weapon he had used in the robberies.

Barbera was arrested on October 28, 2022. On May 24, 2024, she pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.

Barbera, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on September 4.

Cross pleaded guilty to robbery offenses and, on March 5, 2025, was sentenced to 188 months of imprisonment.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police, Orange Police Department, Port Chester (N.Y.) Police Department, and numerous other police departments from the municipalities where the robberies occurred, with the assistance of Connecticut State Parole. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Pierpont, Jr. and Robert S. Ruff.