Crime & Safety

'Merrimack Valley Bandit' Who Hit Westford Faces Lengthy Prison Term

Rafael Beamud, 34, of Lowell, is suspected of numerous robberies throughout the region.

A man dubbed the “Merrimack Valley Bandit” has pleaded guilty to an armed robbery in Nashua and now faces nearly 40 years in prison.

Rafael Beamud, 34, of Lowell, Mass., last week pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing the Nashua CVS on Main Street in March 25, 2013. Police said he walked in with a gun and stole about 1,500 oxycodone pills.

Beamud has been implicated in more than a dozen robberies in the Merrimack Valley, southern New Hampshire, and Maine—including banks in Acton, Mass. and Westford, Mass. Authorities said he also likely burned down his Salem, N.H. home in 2012.

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Prosecutors said Beamud will likely receive a 36-year sentence when he appears before a judge in September.

Beamud’s father, Rafael, Sr., is a retired Cambridge, Mass. police detective.

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