CT man get nearly 20 years in prison for robbery committed using a dating app
A Cromwell man was sentenced to 19 years in prison for a 2020 robbery that took place after he used a dating app to find the victim, according to state authorities.
Citing evidence presented at trial, state authorities said Orlando Ferreira, 31,used the dating app to “arrange a meeting with the victim in Cromwell on July 26, 2020.”
The victim picked Ferreira up, and Ferreira then brought out a knife and ordered the victim drive to him to the bank.
“In an attempt to defend himself, the victim grabbed the knife and sustained cuts on his hand,” state authorities said in a statement. “The victim then stopped the car and exited the vehicle. When he did so, Ferreira attempted to drive away with the car.”
The victim tried to pull Ferreira out of the car “but was thrown to the ground as the car sped away,” authorities said in the statement. “The victim suffered significant road burns as a result of the encounter.”
A jury Ferreira found guilty of first-degree robbery, attempted robbery in the first degree, first-degree reckless endangerment and robbery of an occupied motor vehicle, authorities said. Judge Vernon D. Oliver also sentenced Ferreira to four years of special parole..