Peckville bank robber sentenced to prison

PECKVILLE, PA – – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on September 18, 2020, Justin Wade Lynch, age 44, originally of Texas, was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for armed bank robbery.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Lynch admitted that, on October 30, 2012, he robbed Penn Security Bank & Trust in Peckville, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Lynch brandished a firearm during the robbery, and stole $12,470.

Lynch has been incarcerated since 2013 in Texas on an unrelated armed robbery conviction. The 84 month federal sentence will run concurrent with the remainder of the Texas sentence. Lynch was ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term, and to pay full restitution.

The case was investigated by the Blakely Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni.

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce crime.

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