Michael Anthony Benanti, 43, of Lake Harmony is awaiting trial on an armed robbery in Tennessee, as well as bank robberies in Pennsylvania.

Benanti and his co-defendant, Brian Scott Witham, 45, of Waterville, Maine were arrested following a high speed pursuit in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on Nov. 25 of last year.The two were indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 15 on 15 counts for involvement in “armed bank extortions.” The pair were accused of robbing the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in April, the SmartBank in Knoxville, Tennessee, in July and the Northeast Community Credit Union in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in October.The pair, if found guilty on all counts could be sentenced to a minimum of 142 years in prison. Each individual offense carries a sentence of up to life in prison.On Tuesday the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee announced that Witham had entered a guilty plea to all 15 counts of the indictment as well as similar charges brought against him in the Western District of North Carolina, the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the District of Connecticut.Some of the charges Witham plead guilty to included being a felon in possession of a firearm and armed robbery of the Peoples Security Bank and Trust in Clarks Summit, and a number of other bank robberies.Witham’s guilty plea included an admission that he committed these crimes with his co-defendant, Benanti.Benanti is currently in custody and awaiting trial in Tennessee. A trial date has been set for March 29.