PORTLAND, Maine — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested the third of three people charged with robbing the University Credit Union on Forest Avenue in September.
Crystal L. Dufault, 33, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was arrested Oct. 14 and charged with Class B felony bank robbery and Class D felony conspiracy to commit bank robbery, according to court documents.
The Class B felony carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Class D felony carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Joseph Richards, 46, of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Neil West Sr., 64, of Portland, were arrested Sept. 12 after allegedly robbing TD Bank on Lisbon Street in Lewiston. They were also charged at the time with the Sept. 4 robbery of the University Credit Union in Portland.
Portland police said Sept. 4 that two heavily disguised individuals walked into the University Credit Union, displayed a firearm and demanded cash before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money.
The indictments of Richards and West were sealed until Dufault’s arrest on Oct. 14.
According to prosecutors, Richards, wearing makeup and a wig, and Dufault, wearing a bandana over her face, walked into the credit union that day. Dufault allegedly displayed a black pellet gun while Richards leapt over the counter and filled a bag with approximately $12,308, according to court documents.
West, who was allegedly waiting outside in a Jeep, drove the three from the scene.
Prosecutors allege that on Sept. 12, Richards robbed TD Bank on Lisbon Street in Lewiston at gunpoint while West waited in a Chrysler minivan, getting away with $9,888 before West drove the two away.
The two were arrested in Saco after a high-speed chase with police, according to a previously published report.
Richards was charged with bank robbery. West was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Petitions to revoke their federal supervised release are pending in federal court in Portland.
Richards and West had recently been released from federal prison after serving sentences for separate bank robberies, according to court documents.
Dufault was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Portland on Tuesday afternoon. Richards and West are scheduled to appear on Oct. 27.
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.