Timothy Fenster Sentenced for 6 Armed Robberies Across PA

Timothy Fenster, 31, of Plains Township, Pennsylvania, is headed back behind bars — this time for nearly eight years — after being sentenced to 92 months in federal prison for a string of six armed robberies that terrorized small communities across the region. The sentence, handed down today by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Caputo in Wilkes-Barre, marks the end of a violent crime spree that stretched from Laceyville to Ashley Borough in just over a month.

Fenster pleaded guilty moments before his sentencing, admitting he carried out five armed bank heists and one armed robbery at a Family Dollar store. The first strike hit Community Bank in Laceyville on December 17, 2014. Days later, on December 22, he hit M&T Bank in Hanover Township. The spree continued into January 2015 with raids on FNCB in Plains Township, M&T Bank on Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre, Community Bank in Meshoppen, and finally, the Family Dollar in Ashley Borough on January 28, 2015.

Fenster was arrested the very next day — January 29, 2015 — and has remained in custody ever since. The court credited him with 23 months already served while facing unrelated state charges, but made clear the 92-month federal term starts today. The sentence ensures Fenster will remain incarcerated well into the next decade, paying for a crime wave that left employees shaken and businesses counting losses.

He was ordered to pay $21,650 in restitution to the victims of his crimes — cold cash stolen at gunpoint from teller drawers and register counters. In addition to prison time, Judge Caputo ruled Fenster will spend three years under federal supervision upon release, a period during which any slip could send him straight back to prison.

The investigation was a joint effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jenkins Township Police Department, Plains Township Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police — a multi-agency push to stop a man who moved fast and struck often. Federal prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gurganus, built a case that left no room for denial.

U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler made no apologies for the outcome: Fenster admitted his guilt, faced the consequences, and now serves a sentence that reflects the fear and damage he inflicted. For the towns caught in his path, justice arrived not with sirens — but with a gavel.