Man sentenced to prison after mall robbery
Willie White received eight and a half years for stealing $2,811 in sunglasses while holding a gun at Westfarms Mall in July.
By Lauren Foster ·
Federal prosecutors sentenced a Connecticut man to more than eight years in prison for an armed robbery at a shopping center in West Hartford.
Willie White, 59, pleaded guilty in March to charges including interference with commerce by robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. A federal judge in New Haven ordered White to serve eight years and six months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan.
The crime occurred on July 15, 2025, at the Westfarms Mall. Sullivan said White brandished a handgun while robbing a Sunglass Hut store. He stole six pairs of designer sunglasses with a total retail value of approximately $2,811.
Security staff identified White from surveillance footage shortly after the incident because he had a prior record of shoplifting at the same location. Investigators learned he was wearing a GPS monitoring device due to state supervision. They located him at a restaurant in New Britain, where police arrested him with the stolen goods and a loaded Glock pistol.
The 9mm pistol had been reported stolen in Alabama. Sullivan noted the weapon was fitted with a conversion device known as a Glock switch, which allows the gun to fire automatically. The magazine contained 17 rounds of hollow point ammunition. White's criminal history includes multiple felony convictions for drug offenses, robbery, and burglary.
