'Crown Royal Bandit' pleads guilty

GAINESVILLE - The so-called ``Crown Royal Bandit'' has pleaded guilty in federal court to a string of bank robbery and weapons charges.

Bruce Allen Hughes,48, appeared in a Gainesville courtroom Friday morning. The Blairsville man was expected to plead guilty in January to committing a series of robberies in Georgia and Tennessee over an 11-year-period but changed his mind at the last minute.

Hughes was arrested in Madison County last year.

FBI Special Agent Greg Jones says the guilty plea - in U.S. District Court - likely will lead to a life sentence for Hughes, who authorities say robbed 29 banks in the two states before he was apprehended. Hughes stole a total of over $300,000 in the robberies.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, â