Bank robber who wore ‘scream’ mask gets 8 years

BRIDGEPORT — A New Jersey man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for his involvement in a Killingworth bank robbery during which he wore a “scream mask” as he approached the teller, officials said.

Lavon Young, 39, was sentenced to 96 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport, federal officials said in the release.

Young and another man — identified in court records as David C. Earl — drove to Key Bank on East Main Street in Branford around noon on Jan. 27, officials said. They were planning to rob the bank, according to court records.

The two men got out of the car wearing dark upper-body clothing. Young also wore a dark, hooded sweatshirt and a green “scream mask” over his face, according to the release from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Earl wore a mask over his lower face, sunglasses over his eyes and a redhooded sweatshirt under his overcoat, officials said. The two men walked up to the bank entrance and pulled on the doors, but they were locked. They returned to their car and drove off.

Less than an hour later, Young and Earl drove to a TD Bank branch on Route 81 in Killingworth. Still wearing their masks and dark clothing, the two men entered the bank, told everyone to get down and demanded money from the tellers or else they would “blow their heads off,” according to court records.

Earl possessed a pellet gun during the robbery, police said. A teller handed over multiple stacks of bills, totaling $9,754, and Young and Earl fled.

Young and Earl threw most of the money out of the windows of their car while driving away from the bank, and while being pursued by law enforcement, officials said. They were eventually apprehended by East Haven Police. Investigators successfully recovered $9,479 of the $9,754 taken during the robbery, according to court records.

Young and Earl have been detained since Jan. 27. On July 11, Young pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery.

Earl, also of Union City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to the same charge on May 15. He awaits sentencing.

Young’s criminal history includes a federal conviction for robbing a bank in Linden, New Jersey, in December 2008. In May 2013, he was sentenced in the District of New Jersey to 63 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. He was released from federal prison in March 2017 and committed the Killingworth bank robbery while on supervised release. Supervised release violation proceedings for Young are pending in the District of New Jersey.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police, Branford Police Department and East Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Kopel and Douglas Morabito.