United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

BRIDGEPORT MAN ADMITS PARTICIPATING IN ARMED ROBBERY OF SHELTON BANK

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ELTON FRAZIER, 26, of Allen Street, Bridgeport, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to one count of armed bank robbery.  In pleading guilty, FRAZIER admitted that, on July 19, 2003, he and two other individuals robbed a branch of Fleet Bank, now Bank of America, in Shelton, Connecticut and stole approximately $19,000.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in Court, FRAZIER, Nathaniel Smith and Gerald Foggy entered the front entrance of the bank during the morning of July 19, 2003.  Smith served as a lookout at the front entrance of the bank and was armed with an SKS assault rifle.  During the robbery, Smith fired at least one shot into the ceiling and told one customer to “get down.”  Foggy, who was armed with a .25 caliber handgun, stole money from a safe that was located behind the bank counter.  FRAZIER stole money from the bank counter area.  FRAZIER, Smith, and Foggy then fled the scene in a stolen van.  The three men then switched vehicles, leaving the stolen van behind at a nearby Hilton hotel parking garage and escaping in Smith’s red Acura.  Following the robbery, several articles of clothing, including a dark blue T-shirt and a latex glove, were recovered in the vicinity of the parking garage.

Law enforcement officers recovered numerous pieces of physical evidence at the scene of the crime, including a videotape of the robbery and DNA samples from the T-shirt and latex glove.  In February 2006, Shelton police officers were informed that the DNA sample recovered from the latex glove matched that of Nathaniel Smith, whose DNA sample had been collected after he was convicted on an unrelated weapons charge in Connecticut Superior Court.  Smith subsequently confessed to his involvement in the robbery and admitted that FRAZIER and Foggy participated.  Forensic analysis further revealed that the DNA sample recovered from the dark blue T-shirt matched that of FRAZIER’s DNA.  FRAZIER was arrested and interviewed by Shelton police officers, when he admitted his participation in the robbery.

Judge Burns has scheduled FRAZIER’s sentencing for January 4, 2008, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 25 years and a fine of up to $250,000.  Smith and Foggy have also pleaded guilty.  They await sentencing.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Shelton Police Department and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward Kang.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov