BANGOR, Maine — A local man released from federal prison in August after serving more than 15 years for bank robbery was arrested Tuesday in connection with two robberies a week apart at a city laundromat, according to police.
David Alan Thiede, 61, of Bangor made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Penobscot Judicial Center on two counts of robbery. Bail was set at $50,000.
He was not asked to enter pleas because he has not yet been indicted by a Penobscot County grand jury. The grand jury next convenes on Jan. 27.
The robberies at Gold Star Cleaners that Thiede is accused of committing occurred Jan. 12 and Tuesday night, according to court documents. Thiede allegedly walked into the business, located at Third and Union streets, on both dates, put his right hand in his jacket pocket as if he had a weapon but did not display one and demanded money.
The same clerk was working during both robberies, according to court documents. He gave Thiede $120 on Jan. 12 and $190 on Tuesday.
Thiede was sentenced in September 2001 in federal court in Bangor to 18 years and nine months after being convicted of robbing the Northeast Bank in Augusta and a South Portland bank, according to court documents. He attempted to rob the Kennebec Valley Federal Credit Union in Augusta. He also robbed the Citizens Bank in Nashua, New Hampshire, and AmSouth Bank in Largo, Florida.
His sentence later was reduced by two years. In addition to prison time, he was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $39,000 in restitution.
Before the bank robberies, Thiede also served 10 years for a manslaughter conviction, according to the Bangor Daily News archives.
Thiede was released from the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Aug. 5, according to its inmate locator website. He is expected to be sent back to federal prison for violating his supervised release if convicted on the recent robberies in Bangor.
He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 on the state robbery charges, if convicted.
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.
