FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Ohio — William E. Johnson, 58, Lancaster, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 162 months in prison for armed bank robberies committed in Athens and Marietta during 2020. Johnson will also be required to pay over $50,000 in restitution.
According to court documents, Johnson executed armed robberies on August 17, 2020, at Hocking Valley Bank on East State Street in Athens and on October 22, 2020, at Citizens Bank on North Second Street in Marietta.
During the Athens robbery, Johnson brandished a firearm, disguised himself with a prosthetic forehead, nose, skin-toned arm sleeves/gloves, makeup, and a COVID mask to conceal his identity. After emptying cash drawers, totaling over $25,000, he restrained employees with zip ties and fled the scene in a stolen vehicle after obtaining the bank manager’s car keys.
In Marietta, Johnson, wearing a Halloween-style mask and a red hood, forcibly entered Citizens Bank on North Second Street on October 22, 2020. He wielded a firearm, emptied several drawers, and stole $11,390. Notably, at the time of the Marietta robbery, Johnson had a pending warrant for his arrest related to a bank robbery in Williamstown, West Virginia.
Law enforcement officers apprehended Johnson in West Virginia on the evening of the Marietta heist. Following a foot pursuit during which Johnson resisted arrest, officers utilized a Taser to subdue him. A subsequent search of Johnson’s vehicle revealed over $9,000 in cash, a loaded handgun, zip ties, and various disguises.