MADISON COUNTY BANK ROBBER INDICTED

BIRMINGHAM, AL - WILLIAM HOWARD JOHNSTON, III, 54, has been indicted in U.S. District Court and charged with the bank robbery of a Wachovia Bank in Huntsville, Alabama.

"Robbing a bank is a quick ticket to Federal prison," stated U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin.

The indictment filed states that JOHNSTON entered the Wachovia Bank on March 10, 2007, and demanded money from a teller. Approximately $3,000 was taken in the robbery. The indictment includes a forfeiture count of any property derived from the proceeds of this robbery. JOHNSTON is in federal police custody.

The penalty for bank robbery is not more than twenty years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or both. Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Huntsville Police Department investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting this matter on behalf of the U.S. Government.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.