Skip to main content
Press Release

New Hamphire Residents Plead Guilty to Armed Bank Robbery Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine

Contact: Michael J. Conley
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Crystal Dufault, 33, and Joseph Richards, 46, both of Manchester, New Hampshire, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to armed bank robbery and conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery.  The charges arise from the August 3, 2015 armed bank robbery of Norway Savings Bank, in Freeport, Maine by Richards; the August 14, 2015 armed bank robbery of Franklin Savings Bank, in Franklin, New Hampshire by Dufault and Richards; the September 4, 2015 armed bank robbery of University Credit Union in Portland by Dufault and Richards; and the September 12, 2015 armed bank robbery of TD Bank in Lewiston, Maine by Richards.

According to court documents, a pellet gun was brandished during each of the robberies and the robber(s) absconded with $5,854 from Norway Savings Bank; $9,887 from Franklin Savings Bank; $12,308 from University Credit Union; and $9,888 from TD Bank.
     
The defendants face up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge.  They will be sentenced after completion of a presentence investigation report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. 
     
The joint investigation was conducted by the Franklin and Manchester, New Hampshire Police Departments; the Freeport, Portland, Lewiston, Old Orchard Beach and Saco Police Departments; the Maine State Police; and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Portland, South Portland, Lewiston and Biddeford Police Departments.  U.S. Attorney Delahanty praised the cooperation among these law enforcement agencies noting that “these armed bank robberies were quickly solved because local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across two states worked closely together.”

Updated January 21, 2016

Topic
Violent Crime
Component