Sangerville Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Pharmacy Robbery

Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that James Stile, 58, of Sangerville, Maine, was sentenced on Friday in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., to ten years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for pharmacy robbery.  He was also ordered to pay $13,306.93 in restitution.  Stile pled guilty on October 31, 2014. 

Court records and proceedings reveal that on September 12, 2011, Stile entered the E.W. Moore and Sons pharmacy in Bingham, Maine, wearing a dust mask and purple gloves, and pulled a sawed-off shotgun from his pants.  Stile pointed the gun at the owner and the three employees who were behind the pharmacy counter.  He then ordered the three employees to lie on the floor behind the counter.  A customer subsequently entered the store and Stile ordered the customer to go behind the pharmacy counter with the employees.  Stile told the owner of the pharmacy to fill a bag with narcotics.  As he did so, Stile tied the hands and feet of the customer and the three employees with zip ties.  Once the bag was filled with narcotics, Stile instructed the owner to lie down on the floor.  Stile then tied the hands and feet of the owner with zip ties and fled the store.

The pharmacist was able to free himself shortly after the robbery and saw the defendant depart in a minivan.  The minivan was traced to Stile’s residence in Sangerville.  A search warrant was executed at Stile’s residence early the next morning.  Among the items found in the minivan on the property was a used dust mask and purple gloves.  Three pieces matching the color and material of those gloves were also found at the pharmacy.  Stile’s DNA was found in the gloves.  In the defendant’s house, officers found the shoes and jacket that the defendant wore during the robbery.

In imposing sentence, Judge Woodcock noted that the violence and planning involved in this pharmacy robbery distinguished it from the other pharmacy robbery cases and noted that the victims  must have wondered, as they lay tied up on the ground with a masked man pointing a sawed-off shotgun at them, whether this would be their last day on earth.
     
U.S Attorney Delahanty commended the investigation that was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office; the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office; the Maine State Police; and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. “Their cooperative work led to the quick identification of Stile as the perpetrator.”  “This robbery occurred over 3½ years ago at a time when the State of Maine was seeing a substantial increase in pharmacy robberies which became a priority for both federal and state law enforcement authorities,” said Delahanty.  “This was definitely one of the most violent pharmacy robberies in Maine.  We are very fortunate that no one was physically injured.  Stile was quickly found and arrested because of the diligent efforts of multiple county, state and federal law enforcement agencies.  This kind of cooperation has time and again provided positive results.”