Anthony Valenzuela's booking mug (above left) and a bank surveillance camera image of the suspect in a Dec. 12 robbery in Eugene.

EUGENE, Ore. -- A bank robber who waited in line to rob $620 from a West 11th Avenue bank last December will spend almost 5 years in federal prison.

Judge Ann Aiken sentenced Anthony Phillipe Valenzuela, 49, to 57 months in federal prison for the crime of bank robbery Friday.

On Dec. 12, 2008, Valenzuela robbed the Key Bank on West 11th Avenue in Eugene by waiting in line to hand the teller a note that stated “This is a robbery!! Don’t include the dye pack or bait money.”

The teller placed $620 in an envelope and handed it to defendant, who left the bank.

On Dec. 17, 2008,Valenzueala called dispatch from a Boise hotel and reporte and reported that he wanted to confess to a bank robbery in Oregon because he had told someone what he had done and they were going to turn him in.

Two Boise police officers contacted Valnezuela at his motel room. During an interview
with the officers, he admitted that he robbed a Key Bank in Eugene, federal prosecutors said.

The officers arrested Valenzuela, who subsequently gave permission for Boise FBI agents to search his motel room.

The search revealed hotel and bus receipts placing Valenzuela in Eugene during the time of the bank robbery. And from a photo line-up, the victim teller identified defendant as being the bank robber.

Prosecutors said the defendant has prior convictions for weapons offenses and assault.