A New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty to being the getaway driver during three armed bank robberies last year in Maine and New Hampshire.

Marvin Eugene Ansteth Jr., 40, of Somersworth, N.H., pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland to three felony charges.

Ansteth was one of four people implicated in a bank robbery ring for his role in three robberies last year at Peoples United Bank in Exeter, N.H., on Oct. 7; Meredith Village Savings Bank in Alton, N.H., on Oct. 10; and Kennebunk Savings in Eliot on Oct. 19.

Ansteth was arrested in November after his accused accomplice, Philip Gage, 46, also of Somersworth, gave Ansteth’s name to authorities. Gage was arrested on Oct. 31.

Gage is also charged with two counts of armed bank robbery, in connection with the robberies at Kennebunk Savings and the Ocean Communities Federal Credit Union in Sanford on Oct. 26. Gage has yet to enter a plea.

Another man, Daniel Barry, 38, of Pembroke, N.H., was accused of supplying the guns that Gage used in both Maine robberies, a .44-caliber revolver that was used in Eliot and a .22-caliber revolver that was used in Sanford. Both guns were recovered in a search of Barry’s home.

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Barry was also accused of assisting Gage inside the bank during the robbery in Eliot, according to court records. Barry has since pleaded guilty to two counts of armed bank robbery.

“Gage remained in the lobby of Kennebunk Savings during the robbery and pointed the revolver at Kennebunk Savings employees,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark said in a court document filed last month. “Barry vaulted over the teller counter and took $7,896 in United States currency from the teller drawers, placing them in a green colored gym bag.”

The two men then escaped in a car driven by Ansteth, according to court records. Brianne Mone, 27, of New Hampshire, served as the getaway driver in the other two robberies. She pleaded guilty last month.

Scott Dolan can be reached at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan


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