A Covington man with a record of armed robberies in Maryland was found guilty Thursday for the 2011 armed robbery of a Conyers bank and will likely spend the rest of his natural life in prison.

After a week-long trial, Michael Odle, 38, was convicted of multiple counts of armed robbery, false imprisonment, aggravated assault for the Sept. 2, 2011 robbery of the Wells Fargo bank on Dogwood Drive.  He was sentenced by Rockdale County Superior Court Judge Robert Mumford to two life sentences without parole plus 10 years.

Because of Odle’s prior record and his status of as a recidivist, the minimum sentence he could have faced under Georgia law was life without parole, explained Rockdale County Chief Assistant District Attorney Dabney Kentner.

Odle had been previously convicted of four robberies with a deadly weapon in 1997 and one burglary in 1993 in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

"We hope Odle’s conviction and sentence will send a message to armed robbers and career criminals. They would do well not to prey on the innocent citizens of Rockdale County,” said Kentner.

On Sept. 2, 2011, Odle reportedly went into the Wells Fargo bank wearing a mask and armed with a handgun and forced the six customers and three tellers to the ground. He then demanded money from a teller, fled the bank on foot, and got into a car driven by another co-defendant, Daniel Honzu.

The two fled but were stopped a short time later by Conyers Police Officer Shyra Hardwick on Old Covington Highway.

Honzu gave himself up at that point, but Odle ran into the woods in the industrial area. CPD officers with the assistance of Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office deputies quickly formed a search perimeter. Officers found a trail of clothes in the woods matching those worn by the suspect seen in the bank’s security camera footage. There was also a glove that matched another glove found in the getaway vehicle, said Kenter.

Fifteen minutes later, CPD Sgt. Kristen Moore and Sgt. Guy Sanders found Odle lying face down in the woods, stripped down to shorts and a tank top. Officers took him into custody.

“The City of Conyers did a great job in capturing this dangerous man in such a short time,” said Kenter.

Honzu, 32, entered a guilty plea in June 2012 and was sentenced to 15 years, to serve 11 years. 

Odle faced at least 23 counts and was given credit for time served.