Neil West Sr. Gets 16½ Years for Armed Bank Heists

Portland man Neil West, Sr., 65, is headed back to federal prison for 16½ years after being sentenced for his role in two armed bank robberies in Maine in September 2015. The conviction, handed down by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Nancy Torresen, includes 14½ years for armed bank robbery and conspiracy, plus a consecutive two-year term for violating his supervised release. The crimes targeted University Credit Union in Portland and TD Bank in Lewiston, both resulting in violent getaways and a high-speed chase that ended in Saco.

West served as the getaway driver in both heists. On September 4, 2015, accomplices Joseph Richards and Crystal Dufault robbed University Credit Union. Then, on September 12, Richards struck again at TD Bank—this time with West behind the wheel. The second robbery triggered a pursuit through residential streets at breakneck speeds, culminating in Saco where both men were arrested. Police described the driving as reckless, endangering bystanders and law enforcement alike.

At the time of the robberies, West was already on federal supervised release stemming from a June 2013 conviction as an Accessory After the Fact in a prior bank robbery, for which he served 41 months. His release terms explicitly barred him from committing new federal crimes. That breach sealed his fate in court, with Judge Torresen citing his lengthy criminal record and flagrant disregard for public safety as key reasons for the harsh sentence.

West was convicted on July 28, 2016, following a jury trial. His co-conspirators were also brought to justice: Richards was sentenced to 15 years on September 14, 2016, while Dufault received three years on October 4, 2016. Prosecutors emphasized that the crimes inflicted lasting emotional trauma on bank tellers and customers, with firearms visible during both robberies.

The case was the result of a sweeping joint investigation involving police departments from Franklin and Manchester, New Hampshire; Freeport, Portland, Lewiston, Old Orchard Beach, and Saco, Maine; the Maine State Police; and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force. That task force includes agents from the FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and multiple local police departments across southern Maine. Federal and local agencies worked in lockstep to crack the case in weeks.

“These armed bank robberies were quickly solved because local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across two states worked closely together,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II. The collaboration, he said, sent a clear message: violent crime across jurisdictional lines won’t go unanswered. West now begins a sentence that reflects the gravity of his actions—and the danger he brought to Maine’s streets.