A St. Louis County man has been sentenced to 107 months in federal prison for a series of bank robberies and one attempted robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Derrick Snulligan, 62, of Velda Village Hills, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday. Snulligan carried out five bank robberies and attempted a sixth between April 2023 and June 2024.
According to court documents, Snulligan began his crime spree on April 18, 2023, when he handed a note demanding money to a teller at a Northwoods, Missouri bank while wearing a mask. He returned to the same location on August 28, 2023, using the same method. On October 13, 2023, he tried again but left after an alarm was triggered by the teller.
The plea agreement states that on June 24, 2024, Snulligan escalated his threats in a note given to an employee at a Hazelwood credit union: “I[f] you don’t want to get hurt, go in your drawer and give me 6-one hundred dollar bills, 4-fifty dollar bills, 10-ten dollar bills, and 20-5 dollar bills as quickly as possible.” The teller complied and Snulligan fled with cash.
Three days later he robbed two more credit unions—one in St. Louis and another in Florissant—using similar notes that included threats of violence if his demands were not met: “If you don’t want to get shot I suggest you go in your drawer and give me 30 one hundred dollar bill[s], 20 fifty dollar bills, 30, 20 dollar bills and 40, 10 dollar bills as quickly as possible.”
After these final robberies on June 27, investigators traced Snulligan through his blue Buick Encore vehicle. He admitted responsibility during questioning and some stolen money was recovered; authorities said he repaid the remaining amount before sentencing.
“Derrick Snulligan terrorized bank employees who feared for their lives,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Today’s sentence delivers justice for the trauma he caused.”
Snulligan pleaded guilty in March to five counts of bank robbery under the name Derrick Jackson.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI St. Louis Division as well as police departments from Florissant, St. Louis Metropolitan area and Northwoods.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which coordinates law enforcement efforts with community organizations to reduce violent crime rates across neighborhoods nationwide through focused strategies aimed at prevention and enforcement (https://www.justice.gov/psn).
