Rochester Man Sentenced to 94 Months for Robberies

             CONCORD - Thomas Hegarty, 26, of Rochester, was sentenced to 82 months for attempted bank robbery and robbery, and 12 months to run consecutively for violating his conditions of supervised release, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

             According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 9, 2020, at around 4:00 a.m., Hegarty entered a Circle K gas station in Rochester, showed the cashier a hammer, and stole cash from the register. Later that morning, Hegarty entered a bank in Dover, and passed the teller a note demanding money and indicating that he had a weapon. Tellers locked themselves in an office and called the police. Hegarty jumped over the teller counter and unsuccessfully attempted to open the teller drawers. He then fled the bank without taking any money. Investigators released surveillance photographs from the robberies to the public and identified and apprehended Hegarty later that day. At the time of the robberies, Hegarty was on federal supervised release.

            Hegarty previously pleaded guilty on October 5, 2020.

            “Robberies are violent crimes that jeopardize public safety and frighten innocent victims,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “In order to maintain the safety of our communities, we prioritize the prosecution of violent criminals. This 94-month sentence should serve as a warning to those who would be inclined to prey on their fellow citizens with acts of threat and violence. I am grateful to the FBI, the Dover and Rochester Police Departments, and members of the public whose efforts were instrumental in swiftly bringing this criminal to justice.”

            “While on supervised release, Mr. Hegarty orchestrated a violent crime spree that left many in the community in fear for their lives,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We’d like to thank the concerned citizens who responded to our investigators’ call for assistance to identify him, and in doing so, helped us hold him accountable for his crimes while also making our communities safer.”

              This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Rochester Police Department and the Dover Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgiana L. MacDonald.