New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty To Three Counts Of Robbery From November 2014 Crime Spree

          CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Donald Feith, Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, announced that James Whinnem, 34, formerly of Manchester, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Landya B. McCafferty in Concord to a three count information charging him with one count of robbery affecting interstate commerce in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, and two counts of bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a).

          According to court documents and statements made in court, Whinnem robbed a gas station convenience store at knife point in Manchester, New Hampshire on November 16, 2014.  Two days later, while apparently unarmed, Whinnem robbed a bank in Manchester by passing a demand note to the teller.  Two days after that, he robbed another bank, this time in Dover, also while unarmed and by passing a demand note to the teller.  Following the wide-spread publication of bank video surveillance footage on local New Hampshire news, authorities identified Whinnem from multiple sources.  New Hampshire State Police located and arrested Whinnem on November 30, 2014 in the area of Claremont, NH.  He has remained in custody on a New Hampshire state parole violation since that date.

          Whinnem is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge McCafferty on October 6, 2015 at 2:00 p.m., at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years on each count of conviction, up to three years’ supervised release, and an order of restitution.

          This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Manchester Police Department, and the Dover Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.