Man, woman from Litchfield arrested in Naugatuck bank robbery

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Troopers waiting when they arrive home

Joshua Habib

NAUGATUCK — The red-wigged woman who robbed the People’s United Bank in the Mountainview Plaza Stop & Shop on Saturday has been caught, along with an accomplice who police say tried to send them on a wild goose chase.

State police arrested Brianna McCarthy, 22, and Joshua Habib, 25, that afternoon when they returned home to 192 Hunter Drive in Litchfield.

McCarthy was charged with third-degree robbery and third-degree larceny.

Habib was charged with falsely reporting an incident, apparently in an effort to divert police during the holdup.

Both were charged with third-degree conspiracy to commit robbery and third-degree conspiracy to commit larceny.

The incident began at about 2:30 p.m. when a man called Naugatuck police to report that a woman was being abducted by a man with a gun on Ward Street, Lt. Robert Harrison said. Police were trying to get more information from the caller when he abruptly hung up.

At about the same time, police received a second call from another man who reported seeing a man and a woman acting suspiciously in a silver Saturn bearing California plates outside the Stop & Shop at 727 Rubber Ave. The caller saw a woman wearing a red wig go into the Stop & Shop and come running out.

Within seconds, police were signaled of a robbery by the bank’s security alarm system, Harrison said.

Police reported that a woman in a red wig had demanded money from a teller and left with an undisclosed amount. She did not display a weapon and no one was hurt, police said.

Shortly after the alarm system activated, an off-duty officer, Pete Bosco, was turning onto nearby Allerton Road when a silver Saturn sped past him, weaving between cars and nearly hitting him, Harrison said. Bosco, in his personal vehicle, was able to turn around and drive up behind them. He used his portable radio to report that the vehicle now had Connecticut plates, and relayed the license number to headquarters.

A registration check determined that the plate matched the car, Harrison said, and that the address on the registration was 192 Hunter Drive in Litchfield.

Police contacted state police at the Troop L barracks in Litchfield, whose troopers were waiting for Habib and McCarthy when they arrived home at about 3:45 p.m., Harrison said.

Brianna McCarthy

Harrison said Habib and McCarthy confessed to the crime and showed officers where they had discarded the red wig and California plates, which they had taped to the getaway car.

They were both held on $150,000 bonds pending appearances Tuesday in Waterbury Superior Court.