BANGOR – A Rhode Island man charged in the May 16 robbery of UnitedKingfield bank in Corinth changed his plea to guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court, in part because the government’s prosecution version of the case was deemed strong enough to convict him.

Corey Houle, 26, of Warren, R.I., had entered a not-guilty plea last month to a federal charge of bank robbery and was awaiting a September trial. He changed his plea after his attorney, James Nixon of Bangor, reviewed the intended prosecution prepared by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Malone.

Houle, who has no prior convictions in Maine, will be sentenced at a later date and could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. He remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Lovie Lee Riddle Jr., 58, of Newport is charged in the same case and is scheduled today to change his plea to guilty.

Houle responded Wednesday to extensive questioning from U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock, who established that Houle was competent and that there was a factual basis for his guilty plea.

That factual basis came largely from the prosecution’s case, which featured testimony from three employees of UnitedKingfield Bank as well as two customers who could describe the events of May 16. Malone also referred to two witnesses from outside the bank who were willing to testify.

All the witnesses maintained that a man who fit Houle’s description entered the bank shortly before 11 a.m. May 16 and presented a teller with a note that read, “I am sorry this is a robbery. I have a gun …”

The teller then called the bank manager, who turned over approximately $2,500 in mixed bills to Houle, according to the prosecution document. Witnesses said the man then ran across the street and got into a purple Ford pickup with red flames on the side. An older man, later identified as Riddle, was seen driving.

Police issued a statewide teletype for the Ford pickup, which was spotted about an hour and a half after the robbery on Interstate 95 near Lewiston. A Maine State Police trooper arrested Riddle after determining that he was driving while intoxicated but then learned the truck had been linked to a robbery earlier that day.

Riddle turned $400 over to the officer, and Houle was carrying $1,318 in his pockets and another $540 in his right shoe, according to the document. Further search of the truck revealed a pen with the same color ink as the robbery note and a dark nylon jacket that witnesses said the robber was wearing.

Both men were taken into custody and were indicted June 8.

The May 16 incident was the second time since March that the UnitedKingfield Bank had been robbed. The bank also was held up on March 10.

Maine State Police continue to investigate that robbery, but so far no one has been charged.