Man Indicted For Armed Bank Robbery And Carjacking

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Nevada
16 August 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A man who allegedly stole approximately $18,120 from a credit union, then took three people hostage during a carjacking made his initial appearance in federal court today, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada.

William C. Etheridge, 54, was indicted on Aug. 9, 2017, with one count of bank robbery and one count of carjacking.

According to allegations in the criminal complaint and indictment, on July 25, 2017, Etheridge entered a WestStar Credit Union, located at 110 East Harmon Avenue, in Las Vegas, brandished a semi-automatic pistol, and demanded money from four bank tellers. He then demanded a ride in one of the victim tellers’ personal vehicles to avoid law enforcement apprehension. When none of the tellers volunteered to provide him with a ride, he instructed one of the bank tellers to leave the bank with him. Etheridge stole approximately $18,120. Upon exiting the bank, Etheridge used force and violence to carjack a vehicle with two victims inside. At Etheridge’s request, the victims dropped him off at a Harley Davidson dealership to purchase a getaway vehicle with the stolen money so he could leave the area. Law enforcement arrested Etheridge at the dealership.

If convicted, Etheridge faces the mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the bank robbery charge and 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the carjacking charge.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kilby Macfadden and Nicholas Dickinson.

An indictment is merely an allegation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.