Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Multiple Bank Robberies And Carjacking After Escaping From A Correctional Facility

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Nevada
3 February 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A Las Vegas resident who admitted to committing nine bank robberies after escaping from a correctional facility was sentenced today to 15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse for the FBI’s Las Vegas Division.

William Etheridge, 57, pleaded guilty in October 2019, to 11 counts of bank robbery, carjacking, and escape. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey sentenced Etheridge to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $18,397.90 in restitution.

According to court documents, on May 18, 2017, Etheridge escaped from the Northwest Regional Reentry Center, a contracted correctional facility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Oregon, where he was in custody for a federal bank robbery conviction. Shortly after his escape, between June 2, 2017 and July 19, 2017, Etheridge robbed nine banks in Oregon and Washington, and attempted to rob another bank in Oregon.

On July 25, 2017, Etheridge, who was armed, stole $18,120 from a credit union in Las Vegas. He demanded that one of the tellers leave the credit union with him, then carjacked a vehicle with two victims inside. At Etheridge’s request, the victims dropped him off at a motorcycle dealership to purchase a motorcycle for use as a getaway vehicle. Law enforcement arrested Etheridge while he was at the dealership.

This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Dickinson prosecuted the case.

Etheridge was investigated in three federal jurisdictions for his crimes: the District of Nevada, the Western District of Washington, and the District of Oregon.