A man accused of robbing a bank in Hiram at gunpoint pleaded guilty in federal court in Rome on Wednesday.

Arthaniel Smith Jr., 37, has been classified as an armed “career criminal” because of his criminal history and agreed to a sentence of more than 40 years in prison. He will be sentenced Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. before Judge Robert L. Vining.

According to federal Prosecutor Sally Quillian Yates and information presented in court:

Smith said that on March 2, he and another male unlawfully entered the Wachovia Bank at 4580 Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway in Hiram and hid inside the bank. The following morning, when the first employee of the day entered the bank, Smith and his cohort, armed with handguns, confronted the employee and demanded money from the bank’s vault. After obtaining the funds, both men fled from the bank to a waiting vehicle.

A concerned citizen who saw the men leave the bank reported the make, model and tag number of their vehicle.

The two were stopped by a Paulding County sheriff’s deputy within 10 minutes. All of the bank’s funds were recovered from the vehicle, along with the gloves, masks and handguns used by the robbers.

Both men subsequently confessed to committing the crime.