BENTON — A 61-year-old Salem man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Benton to robbing Southern Illinois Bank in Zeigler earlier this year.

Earl Morlan is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13 in the Benton Federal Courthouse on the one-count indictment charging him with felony bank robbery. Morlan has remained in federal custody since the federal indictment was filed in May.

Before the federal indictment, he was in custody in Franklin County on state charges of Class X felony armed robbery with a firearm and Class 1 felony aggravated armed robbery indicating a firearm and was being held in state custody at the Franklin County Jail. That case has remained on hold pending the outcome of the federal case.

Du Quoin Police arrested Morlan the day after the bank robbery following a 911 call from Morlan with an apparent medical emergency. Morlan was taken to a local hospital before Zeigler Police Chief Ben Burkhamer picked him up at the hospital and took him to jail.

Morlan was reportedly identified by Marion County law enforcement after they recognized him in a bank surveillance photo.

A pretrial hearing in the Franklin County case remains set for after the first of the year.