Man who threatened to shoot hostage during Bristol bank robbery, called in bomb threats in Hartford gets 15 years in prison

A man who threatened to kill a hostage during a bank robbery in Bristol in 2016 prior to calling in several bomb threats in Hartford has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Robert Du Perry, 58, faced sentencing in New Britain Superior Court last week after previously pleading guilty to charges of first-degree robbery and first-degree kidnapping. The 58-year-old was ordered to serve eight years of special parole once he is released from prison, according to court records.

Du Perry has been in custody since his arrest nearly seven years ago.

According to the Bristol Police Department, Du Perry took a random woman hostage on July 27, 2016, and drove around for nearly two hours before deciding to rob a bank. Investigators said he happened to be at the Barnes Chapel on Pound Street when a comment made by the 65-year-old woman working there angered him.

Police said Du Perry then drew a gun — which looked real but turned out to be a BB gun — bound the woman with duct tape, covered her eyes and drove around in her car while she was held hostage in the passenger seat. During the ride, Bristol police said, he called in several bomb threats in Hartford.

While driving by the TD Bank in Bristol, Du Perry told police, he suddenly remembered that the bank had angered him previously by charging him late fees. He then approached the drive-thru window and robbed the bank, police said, pointing the gun at the 65-year-old woman and threatening to kill her if he didn’t get the cash he wanted from the teller.

After leading police on a chase into Wolcott with the stolen cash, Du Perry was later arrested and charged with multiple felonies.

After that arrest, Bristol police said they were able to discover circumstantial evidence to suggest Du Perry was responsible for a robbery reported at another bank in Bristol in June 2016. In that matter, police said, Du Perry, on foot, approached the drive-thru window of United Bank, at 888 Farmington Ave., on June 9, 2016, at about 3:45 p.m. There, he allegedly showed the teller a note that demanded money. Police said he brandished a firearm and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing.

The charges in the June 2016 robbery – which included those of second-degree larceny, first-degree robbery and other offenses – were not pursued in light of Du Perry’s guilty pleas in the hostage incident.