Ex-superintendent gets 3 1/2 years in bank robbery

A former Dryden schools superintendent will spend at least three and a half years in prison in the armed robbery of a Brockway Township bank.

Thomas Goulette, 51, was sentenced Monday to three and a half years to 20 years in prison on a charge of armed robbery, according to court records.

A restitution amount will be submitted at a later date by Tri-County Bank.

Goulette pleaded guilty in April to the Jan. 7 robbery of Tri-County Bank in Brockway Township.

During his plea hearing, Goulette said he entered the bank with a starter pistol and demanded money from tellers. After receiving the money, he fled the bank in a pickup.

Police later identified Goulette’s pickup through tips to the sheriff department. Goulette was arrested and arraigned on a charge of armed robbery.

Goulette was the superintendent of Dryden Community Schools from 2005 to 2013.

Goulette also is charged in Lapeer County for armed robbery and bank robbery in relation to the Jan. 8 robbery of an Oxford Bank branch in Dryden Township.

Lapeer County Prosecutor Tim Turkelson said Goulette will appear for a hearing in the case in Lapeer Ccounty via video June 13. He said Goulette’s case was delayed to allow time for the St. Clair County case to be completed.

Gouletete also is a founder of Just Right Fitness Solutions LLC in Armada.

Contact Beth LeBlanc at (810) 989-6259 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @THBethLeBlanc.