Richard Jarvis pleaded guilty in U.S. District Federal Court yesterday to a nearly decade-old bank robbery after years of living under an assumed name on the Mainland.

On July 15, 1996, Jarvis robbed the Discovery Bay branch of Bank of Hawaii and made off with $10,884.

Nearly nine years later, 36-year-old Jarvis was found in New York living under the alias Jeff Thornton, said assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Kawahara. Jarvis was apprehended by federal investigators in July of this year and returned to Honolulu to face charges.

A week before the 1996 robbery, Jarvis was arrested for allegedly stealing a sandwich from an ABC store in Honolulu. Fingerprints from Jarvis' arrest file were matched to the fingerprints from the bank robbery note he passed to a teller, Kawahara said.

The note read: "I have a gun. Don't panic. Quickly and quietly hand over the money. Large bills first, unmarked. Do not press alarm."

According to assistant federal public defender Michael Weight, Jarvis did not have a gun and the tellers never said they saw one.

Jarvis was also identified through a surveillance photo from the robbery, Kawahara said.

He was believed to be homeless at the time, Weight said.

Jarvis was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1996 but shortly after both incidents occurred left Hawai'i for the Mainland, Weight said. The FBI had suspected Jarvis was in California or on the East Coast.

"He is taking full responsibility for his actions," Weight said after yesterday's proceedings.

Jarvis' sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 15 with Chief District Judge David Ezra. U.S. magistrate Leslie Kobayashi ordered him to remain in custody until then.

During yesterday's proceedings, Jarvis did not make any objections to a list of accusations read by the prosecutor.

"Everything he just stated — I did those things," Jarvis said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.