Eugene, Ore. - United States District Chief Judge Ann Aiken sentenced William Cecil Etheridge, 49, to 77 months in prison yesterday following his guilty plea to bank robbery.

In his guilty plea petition, Etheridge admitted using force, violence or intimidation to rob Wells Fargo Bank at 99 East Broadway, Eugene on June 25, 2011. According to the government's sentencing memorandum, Etheridge entered the bank and told a teller, "Give me 50s and 100s." The teller asked him to repeat his statement and Etheridge replied that he had a gun. The teller gave him $800 and Etheridge fled on foot.

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued Etheridge deserved a longer sentence because he had also robbed the Wells Fargo Bank in Medford, Oregon on July 1, 2011. The judge agreed, noting that Etheridge had just been released from prison in May 2011 after serving an 88 month prison sentence for an unrelated bank robbery.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William "Bud" Fitzgerald.