Accused 'Grand-Pa Bandit' From Enfield Sentenced

ALBANY, NY – An Enfield man accused of being a serial store bandit was sentenced on Monday to 96 months in prison for robbing two Dollar Tree stores, prosecutors said.

David Daniel Hunter, 54, of Enfield, had been accused of robbing Dollar Trees in North Greenbush, NY and in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in May 2017. Hunter was dubbed the "Dollar Store Grand-Pa Bandit" by police.

The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, special agent in charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Senior United States District Judge Fredrick J. Scullin, Jr. also imposed a three-year term of supervised release, which will begin after Hunter’s release from prison, and ordered Hunter to pay $25,450.61 in restitution and to forfeit $1,200.

In pleading guilty, Hunter admitted to stealing a 2017 Dodge Charger in Connecticut on May 5, 2017 and driving it to New York to commit robberies, authorities said.

On May 6, 2017, Hunter entered the Dollar Tree store in North Greenbush brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, and demanded money, according to a case records. After taking $1,200 from the store’s safe and cash registers, Hunter directed the clerks to the store’s stock room, took one clerk’s cellphone, and left the store, according to case records.

Hunter later traveled to Idaho, where he entered a Dollar Tree store in Coeur d’Alene on May 28, 2017, displayed a Taser, and demanded money, authorities said. After stealing approximately $3,700, Hunter took a clerk’s cellphone and fled, case records indicate.

As part of a robbery spree that lasted more than a month, Hunter also robbed Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores in Adrian, Michigan, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Lincoln, Nebraska, American Fork, Utah, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and North Haven, Connecticut, accordingv to the FBI.

Photo courtesy of Dearborn County Sheriff's Office