July 22, 2015

Connecticut Man Charged with Area Bank Robberies

SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in Scranton, Pennsylvania, has returned an Indictment late yesterday, charging David Sandy Lee Parks, age 59, of Connecticut, with committing two bank robberies.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the two-count Indictment alleges that Parks committed the following robberies:

  • the armed robbery of the Peoples Security Bank, Duryea, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 2015; and
  • the armed robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank, Plymouth, Pennsylvania, on July 10, 2015.

Police officers from the Upper Macungie Police Department arrested Parks on July 17, 2015, and charged him with a robbery of the First Niagara Bank, Trexlertown, PA, that occurred earlier that day. He is presently being held at the Lehigh County Jail in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The case was jointly investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, the Duryea Police Department, the Plymouth Township Police Department, the Upper Macungie Police Department, Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, Pittston Police Department, Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department, Plains Township Police Department, Jenkins Township Police Department, West Pittston Police Department, Edwardsville Police Department, and Hanover and Kingston Police Departments. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 25 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.