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WILKES-BARRE — A city man was sentenced Thursday in Luzerne County Court after admitting to his role in robbing a bank in Hanover Township last year.
President Judge Michael T. Vough sentenced Wayne Charles Castetter, 46, last known address as 77 E. Market St., to two-to-four years in state prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. Castetter was given credit for 344 days time served in jail.
Castetter pleaded guilty to charge in October.
Hanover Township police charged Castetter and Aaron Lee Fernandez, 30, of Hazleton, with robbing the M&T Bank branch on Sans Souci Parkway on May 22, 2019.
Police in court records say Fernandez and Castetter parked in a nearby parking lot and walked to the bank. Fernandez entered the financial institution and demanded money while Castetter stayed outside near the door, court records say.
Police learned a white Ford Mustang fled the area and was recorded on surveillance cameras a mile away on Saint Marys Road about one minute after the robbery.
Police also learned Castetter was driving erratically at a high rate of speed through the Hanover Industrial Park and on Route 29 from which Castetter turned south onto Interstate 81.
Court records say Castetter and Fernandez discovered a tracking device mixed with the stolen money and tossed cash out the car’s window along the highway.
Police and state police searched the area, finding 27 $20 bills scattered along the interstate near Route 29.
Hazleton police arrested Castetter and Fernandez at a residence on Peace Street in Hazleton several hours after the bank robbery.
Fernandez was sentenced by Vough on Feb. 24 to two-to-four years in prison on a robbery charge.