Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Bank Robbery


CONCORD, NH—Thomas Gould, 49, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 37 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to robbing the Citizens Bank in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on July 18, 2011, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

At a change of plea hearing held on February 13, 2012, Gould did not dispute that he entered the Citizens Bank in Portsmouth, approached a teller, and placed a small brown lunch bag on the counter. Gould told the teller that the bag contained a bomb. Gould demanded all of the teller’s 100- and 20-dollar bills. After the teller provided a sum of money, Gould left the bank on foot to a car parked in a parking lot across the street from the bank. A surveillance camera captured an image of the vehicle. The New Hampshire State Police Explosives Unit responded to the scene and determined that the bag contained a ticking alarm clock but did not contain a bomb.

Gould was arrested by federal and state authorities the following day at a hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. None of the robbery proceeds were recovered.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Portsmouth Police Department, and the New Hampshire State Police participated in the investigation of this case and was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Donald Feith.

No comments: