A man accused of stealing $30,000 from a South Portland bank in January has pleaded guilty to the charge in federal court.
Jason Arsenault, 41, will be sentenced at a later date and could face up to 20 years in prison. He was indicted in the U.S. District Court in Portland.
Arsenault took the money from a KeyBank in South Portland on Jan. 26, federal prosecutors said, after telling a drive-thru bank teller that he had a bomb.
“CAR BOMB,” Arsenault wrote in a note that he showed the bank employee. “NO Cops Alarms or WE ALL DIE.”
He asked for $50,000 in 20-dollar bills, according to court records from the prosecution.
Arsenault had been driving a black Chevrolet Suburban and was wearing a black hat, sunglasses and a face mask.
Police spent a week reviewing surveillance footage and looking for Arsenault, whom they arrested on Feb. 1 near Mabel Street in Portland. He admitted to robbing the bank, prosecutors say, and told them he hid the money in a backpack in Baxter Woods on Stevens Avenue in Portland.
Police recovered a bag carrying more than $28,000.
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