Rivers

XENIA — A 65-year-old man was sentenced to prison after a pair of bank robberies in Greene County and an attempted heist in Montgomery County.

William A. Rivers was sentenced to 21 years in prison for three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of attempted robbery by Judge Michael A. Buckwalter in the Greene County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 10.

On March 18, 2021, Rivers was arrested outside a U.S. Bank in Miami Township after a multi-agency law enforcement collaboration. Rivers started his crime spree on March 15, 2021, when he robbed a U.S. Bank office in Fairborn in. Rivers entered the bank with a note, demanding money, and indicating he possessed a firearm.

The following day, Rivers copied his actions at a U.S. Bank office in Beavercreek. After these two robberies, officers from Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering, and Miami Township worked together to apprehend Rivers before he had a chance to rob the U.S. Bank in Miami Township, Montgomery County.

On June 8 Rivers entered guilty pleas to three counts of aggravated robbery and one count on attempted robbery. At sentencing, Buckwalter said that Rivers’ history of criminal conduct demonstrates consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future crime. Buckwalter found that Rivers has an extensive criminal history that exhibits a pattern of violence, repetitive behavior, and an unwillingness to change.

Most notably, Rivers was previously convicted of two counts of robbery in August 2011 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released from prison in November 2020.

“Rivers has a number of prior violent felony convictions, including robbery and burglary,” Greene County Prosecutor David D. Hayes said. “He has been sentenced to prison on nine prior occasions. Due to the collaborative efforts from multiple police jurisdictions, a dangerous violent felon is off the streets and behind bars.”

Rivers will be on post-release control supervision after serving his prison sentence for a minimum of two years.