Robert Starnes Jr. was charged today in connection with the robbery of the Chase Bank branch in Sheffield Lake last week and could face additional charges in two other bank robberies, the FBI announced in a news release.

Starnes, 39, was arrested last Thursday on a parole violation, although Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery had issued an order earlier this year declaring that Starnes wasn’t on parole. The Ohio Adult Parole Authority contends that Rothgery didn’t have the author-ity to issue such an order and has continued to treat Starnes as if her were on parole.

The news release said that in addition to the July 21 Sheffield Lake robbery, Starnes is also a suspect in the robberies of Lorain National Bank in Sheffield Township on June 28 and the FirstMerit Bank in Amherst on July 16. Charges in those cases are pending, the release said.

Starnes will appear in federal court on the armed bank robbery charge — which carries a possible prison term of up to 25 years – once he is transferred from state to federal custody, according to the release.

Read Wednesday’s Chronicle for more on this story.