The article does not say why they did it - are they drug addicts? Just curious what would motivate them to do such a stupid thing.

Kudos to Officer Bosco for his alertness and ongoing concern of citizens when off duty. It is great to hear these two criminals were caught within hours of the incident. Praise to the citizens that were also alert and aware of their surroundings. Without all this involvement, these criminals may have gotten away. Good to know that two more bad ones will be put away.

They did it for the money. Does it really even matter? They robbed a bank, end of story.

It does matter why they did it. These are two young people who now have no future - I wondered why they just threw their lives away. They obviously needed money ( who does not in these times?) but you don't see everyone robbing a bank to get it so yes, it does matter. I suppose the public will never know.

More troubling is why they chose Naugatuck. Plenty of places to choose from between here and Litchfield. It's a shame the borough continues it's steamroll towards Waterbury-light. Good job by the PD, they have their work cut out for them.

" appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Feb. 14."
Happy Valentines Day!

WTG Officer Bosco, I'll never bust you again about the pillow you sit on! ^5 Bro!

There is no "Hunter Road" in Litchfield according to MapQuest, however a Google search of 192 Hunter Drive in Litchfield shows an upscale condo valued at almost a half million dollars. http://www.homes.com/Home-Prices/ID-500013911156/192-HUNTERS-DR/

Hey Jim,
Thanks for pointing that out. I corrected the error. I actually had it as "Hunter Road" in the first reference, and "Hunter Drive" in the second reference toward the bottom of the article. Call it a error in editing.

Thanks for your readership and comments!

- RD, editor

Do people really expect to get away with this kinda thing? These are
not the days of John Dillinger. U always get caught. Technology has taken away any chance of success.

While I don't condone such behavior ... They are not "dirtbags" I DO know that Josh has had a rough life. This is where bad parenting, bad choices, years of drug abuse and clearly complete lack of judgement get you.

I can think of worse ways to go about gettin $$ than robbing an insured bank with no gun.

This is the lying heroin addict girl who can't keep her story straight about the Litchfield teacher who supposedly came onto her. Maybe this info will help him restore his name.

If these kids really want to get away with robbery, they should go to business school and study finance and manage hedge funds and become insider traders skimming $ millions off the productive work of society. Or they should become CEO's of large corporations paying politicians to enact "free trade" treaties so they can export our industries, jobs and future for the quick $ billions for the 1%.

Then they could enjoy life instead of being punished for it.

it always amazes me that people are stupid enough to try and Rob a bank. you never get much and then you almost always get caught. You'd be better off robbing the local Burgerking...lol ( but dont do that either, it isnt nice and Karma with pay you back by making you a toilet seat in a Grand Central Station mens room in your next life!)

ITS CALL GET A JOBBBBBBB,,CLEAN MONEY

I agree with Mike Rotch – Naugatuck used to be a nice little town with hard working people that cared what happened and got involved. I remember leaving doors open without having to worry about someone coming in a doing harm.(can't do that anymore with all the thugs moving here)

Now with the influx of people from other cities, Naugatuck is being plague with big city problems.
• High drug use
• Home break-ins
• Violence
• And more

Slum property owners from other town’s buys properties in our town only to make money and do not care what types of people they rent to.

This influx of poorly educated, violent and drug addicts are infutrating our streets and schools forcing hard working people to flee to other towns.

It’s time for Naugatuck to wake-up – hopefully is not too late.

I know Brianna and her family very well. She came from a great family and a mother who is one of the best people that I have ever met. Her mother is one of the most unselfish and caring people in this world and did everything for her children. This is not bad parenting. This is just an unfortunate case of a individual who has had many hardships in her life.

It is ridiculous to say that this crime is the result of bad parenting. These individuals chose to make bad decisions. This was their own choice and their own fault, no one else's. All of you people shouldn't be making judgments about Brianna's entire family unless you know them well. You can judge and talk about the crime she committed or her, but it is likely that (if you don't already) you will know someone who makes a wrong turn in their life and it might hurt you or your family to see comments like this. The families of these individuals are obviously not proud of what they both have done, and they didn't make them commit the crime, so there is really no reason to bring their families into it. The article is about them and the crime they committed because it is important to inform the public.
This commentary section is not meant to be a gossip forum about the personal details of the family of both individuals.

I am an attorney. Two points: First, motive for a crime is legally irrelevant. Although the motive may have an influence on how a judge or jury sees a defendant or a crime, the reason someone does something or does not do something is not the same as their state of mind when they commit a crime. So when these people committ a robbery ... the reason for it may have an affect on sentencing in terms of the sanction but has no significance as to guilt or innocence. Second: Robbery is a dumb crime. By this I mean that Robbers I treated seriously by the Court and if a weapon is used, usually involve many years in jail for very little money. Usually these robberies are committed by three groups: 1. People addicted to drugs who cannot hold stable employment. 2. People who have long felony records, and have no other way to make more than minimum wage. 3. Highly trained professional Bank Robbers that case out joints, break in, and steal significant amounts of money. The latter category is of interest to the FBI and the Federal Court system. I do not know these defendants ... and generally do not comment on this stuff ... but since it appears that they robbed the bank I used and threaten people I know ... I think people should realize that robbery has a huge impact on the psychology of the victims. It is treated seriously by the Court system because it is a crime of violence ... even if no one is hurt.

I know josh, he's such a great kid with one of the biggest hearts ever. He would do anything for anyone but he got caught up with heroin at an early age and couldn't break away from his habit. For those of you who assume he's just some scumbag, you've obviously never experienced being dope sick. Being dope sick alone will make you do anything to get your next fix or even kill yourself because it is too agonizing to deal with.

I have known josh for years. He hasn't changed he's just gotten worse and there's no excuse for it. I dont care if your an addict or not that doesn't make it ok to steal from your friends family and now banks. He's a scum bag no matter what any of u say. Everyone goes through rough times in their life it doesn't make it ok to keep making the same mistakes over and over. Josh is a joke and karma just bit him in the ass. Now he'll be pheining from a cell and I couldn't be happier about it.

I know Brett Johnson, and he's a great kid too. He's got bubble eyes, though.

I know Josh personally and although he's had a troubled past, he was also given many chances to have a great future. Unfortunately, he chose to do drugs and now heroin rules his life. I truly hope he can overcome his addiction and do something productive with his life.

A very close friend of mine dated brianna, she was a very good person but she just got caught up with the wrong people that got her into drugs, it has not one thing to do with bad parenting, cuz she came from a very good family, and a good background of friends that cared about her. And one man that loved her more than anything and wouldve gave her everything, but she chose drugs and scum because she didn't know any better.

Ms. McCarthy, we all feel for you, and you are a great and wonderful mother, and grand mother.

Love you Brianna, you really should have hung around, and stayed after so long. And you wouldve most definately stayed out of trouble. I still love you, hope everything turns out fine.
Love, B.M.

The only good thing about the thread is that people that know these people recognize that they are human beings and not criminals. That said: they may not be bad people but they did a bad thing, and they will be punished for it. If these two do not get jail time ... which may be possible because there was no gun involved, that will be a huge break. They both, however, will not escape felony convictions most likely. That will hinder each one of them of moving forward. People always say it is drugs that made them do this, but in my 12 year of representing people in criminal court and handling criminal appeals after trials and habeas corpus proceedings, these violent crimes usual involve a person who is high on drugs or a crime to support a habit. So ... being on drugs ... will probably play no role in the conviction but may mitigate punishment.

Plenty of people do heroin and never rob anyone...blaming the heroin is a cop-out.