Missouri – A Missouri man admitted in federal court that he robbed five banks and attempted a sixth in the St. Louis area over the course of a year. Derrick Snulligan, 62, pleaded guilty last Thursday in US District Court in St. Louis.
According to court documents, Snulligan started his crime spree on April 18, 2023, when he entered a bank in Northwoods wearing a mask and handed the teller a note demanding money. On August 28, 2023, he returned to the same bank and repeated the process, passing a demand note while wearing a mask.
On October 13, Snulligan made a third attempt at the same Northwoods location, but this time the teller activated a security alarm and ordered him to leave. He fled the scene with no money.
After that failed attempt, investigators believe Snulligan changed his strategy, making his notes more aggressive. On June 24, 2024, he approached a teller at a credit union in Hazelwood and passed a note saying, “If you don’t want to get hurt, go in your drawer and give me 6 hundred-dollar bills, 4 fifty-dollar bills, 10 ten-dollar bills, and 20 five-dollar bills as soon as possible.” The teller agreed, handing over the money, and Snulligan escaped.
Three days later, on June 27, he struck twice more. First, at a credit union in St. Louis, followed by a Florissant location later that day. In both cases, he gave the tellers notes containing detailed instructions and threats of violence. Following each robbery, he was seen fleeing in a blue vehicle, later identified as a Buick Encore.
The investigators were able to trace the vehicle back to Snulligan. After being apprehended, he confessed to all five robberies and one attempted robbery. He also returned some of the stolen cash. Authorities confirmed that he sometimes went by another name, Derrick Jackson.
Snulligan has pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery. Each charge has a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1.
The FBI investigated the case in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, such as the Florissant Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Northwoods Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Paul D’Agrosa.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national initiative that promotes collaboration between law enforcement and community members to reduce violent crime and improve public safety.
