PORTLAND – A Stetson man who was the driver of a getaway vehicle in a Corinth bank robbery was sentenced Friday in federal court.

Lovie Lee Riddle Jr., 58, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to more than four years in federal prison for his role in the May 16 robbery of the UnitedKingfield Bank branch in Corinth.

His co-defendant, Corey Joseph Houle, 26, of Warren, R.I., was sentenced last month in U.S. District Court in Bangor to nearly 3 1/2 years in prison for his role in the thwarted scheme.

Riddle, a large man nicknamed Bear, wore bright orange jail garb as he stood before U.S. District Judge John Woodcock in the stately courtroom.

The 30-minute hearing was held in Portland instead of Bangor to accommodate Riddle’s health needs. Last month, he was transferred to a federal medical prison facility in Devens, Mass., where he has been treated for diabetes, hepatitis and kidney disease.

“I’m not at all sure, Mr. Riddle, what it is that has compelled you to lead such a long life of crime,” Woodcock said Friday. “There is always hope that with age and time comes wisdom, and that after you serve your prison term, you will come to the conclusion that there is a better way to go through life.”

Riddle, a native of Alabama, dropped out of school when he was 10 years old, but earned his high school diploma during the early 1990s while incarcerated at the Downeast Correctional Facility in Bucks Harbor.

“Mr. Riddle had an utterly neglectful childhood,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Malone, who prosecuted the case, told the judge. “There were no boundaries for what was good or bad, right or wrong, legal or illegal.”

Riddle and Houle met at a Bangor homeless shelter. The day of the robbery, the two hatched the plan while riding around in Riddle’s purple Ford pickup with red flames painted on the sides. Unarmed, Houle entered the bank, located on Route 15 in Corinth.

He gave the teller a note, written in pink ink, that read, “I am sorry this is a robbery. I have a gun.”

Maine State Police stopped the pickup on Interstate 95 near Lewiston about 90 minutes after the robbery after another driver reported that Riddle was drinking and driving. The trooper later learned that the truck had been linked to the robbery.

Both men pleaded guilty earlier this year. They faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Riddle also was sentenced Friday to three years of supervised release following his 51 months in prison. Houle was sentenced to 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Both men were ordered to pay $2,491 in restitution to the bank, although most of the money was recovered when the two were arrested.

Riddle on Friday told Woodcock that he had written a letter of apology to the bank tellers, who before the robbery, cashed his disability checks.

“I’m sorry for what I done,” Riddle said. “There’s no excuse for it.”