James Whinnem, Robbery, New Hampshire 2015

A 35-year-old man from Manchester and Somersworth has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for committing three robberies in November 2014, Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith announced.

James Whinnem, 35, was sentenced by United States District Judge Landya B. McCafferty for the robberies, which took place in Manchester and Dover, New Hampshire. The Court imposed a term of 10 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release, and ordered Whinnem to pay restitution in the amount of $11,419.

In June 2015, Whinnem pleaded guilty to a three-count information charging him with one count of robbery affecting interstate commerce in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, and two counts of bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a).

According to court documents and statements made in court, Whinnem robbed a gas station convenience store at knife point in Manchester, New Hampshire on November 16, 2014. Two days later, while apparently unarmed, Whinnem then robbed a bank in Manchester by passing a demand note to the teller. Two days after that, he robbed another bank, this time in Dover, also while unarmed and by passing a demand note to the teller.

Following the wide-spread publication of bank video surveillance footage on local New Hampshire news, authorities identified Whinnem from multiple sources. New Hampshire State Police located and arrested Whinnem on November 30, 2014 in the area of Claremont, NH.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Manchester Police Department, and the Dover Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

Whinnem has remained in custody on a New Hampshire state parole violation since his arrest on November 30, 2014.

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