A federal court in Portland sentenced a man from Westbrook to seven years in prison on Tuesday for committing two robberies between 2018 and 2019, with the second one being committed while on pretrial release for the first.
Aaron West, 38, had pleaded guilty on June 28, 2019, to committing two robberies: one on January 31, 2018, and the other on March 18, 2019.
First robbery
Court records state that West entered the Cumberland County Federal Credit Union in Falmouth on January 31, 2018. He walked up to the teller with his right hand in his sweatshirt pocket—a posture indicative of a concealed weapon. He told the teller, "this is a robbery, no dye packs." After making away with $16,250 from the robbery, he was arrested for it.
In November 2018, a federal grand jury indicted him for the robbery and he was released pending trial. Following the violation of his pretrial release conditions, he was declared a fugitive in March 2019, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Second robbery
While being a fugitive from the law, he committed his second robbery. On March 18, 2019, he entered Norway Savings Bank in Portland. In a manner similar to the previous robbery that suggested that he had a concealed weapon, he approached the teller.
"Give me the money," he told her. He demanded more money after receiving a small amount from the teller. He threatened to "start shooting" if she did not give him more. A sum of $1,400 was acquired by West in the robbery.
Imprisonment and fine
Along with the imprisonment sentence from the US District Court Judge, West will be under supervised release after the completion of his prison term. In addition to this, the Westbrook man has also been ordered to pay restitution of $16,250 to Cumberland County Federal Credit Union, and $1,140 in restitution to Norway Savings Bank.
