Neil West, Sr., Armed Bank Robberies, Maine 2016

A Portland man is behind bars after a string of armed bank robberies in Southern Maine. Neil West, Sr., 65, was sentenced to 16½ years in prison and five years of supervised release for his role in the robberies.

West was found guilty on July 28, 2016, of armed bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery following a jury trial. He was also ordered to serve a consecutive two-year sentence for violating conditions of supervised release.

The charges arose out of the September 2015 robberies of University Credit Union (UCU) in Portland and TD Bank (TDB) in Lewiston. West served as the getaway driver for both robberies, while co-conspirators Joseph Richards and Crystal Default robbed the banks.

On September 4, 2015, Richards and Default robbed UCU, and on September 12, 2015, Richards robbed TDB. The TDB robbery resulted in a high-speed chase through residential neighborhoods, which culminated in Saco.

At the time of the robberies, West was on federal supervised release for being an Accessory After the Fact (to Bank Robbery) and for which he received a 41-month prison sentence in June 2013. His conditions of release prohibited him from committing another federal offense.

Richards was sentenced to 15 years in prison on September 14, 2016, and Dufault was sentenced to three years in prison on October 4, 2016.

Chief Judge Nancy Torresen noted during sentencing that bank robberies cause 'great emotional harm to tellers and customers and put people at risk.' She also highlighted West's lengthy criminal history and 'extremely reckless driving through residential neighborhoods at high rates of speed' as aggravating factors warranting the stiff sentence.

The joint investigation was conducted by the Franklin Police Department, Manchester Police Department, Freeport Police Department, Portland Police Department, Lewiston Police Department, Old Orchard Beach Police Department, Saco Police Department, 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 Thomas E. Delahanty II 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.'

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/pr/portland-man-sentenced-16-years-armed-bank-robberies