GREENUP, Ky. — An Ironton man wanted in connection with a string of bank robberies from Jackson to Russell, Ky., has reportedly confessed to Ironton police that yes, he did drive the getaway car for the holdup of U.S. Bank at Third and Jones streets in Ironton March 7.

Ironton Police Capt. Chris Bowman said he and detective Jim Akers spoke with Willis Cochran, 44, of 6202 State Route 93, Ironton, Tuesday evening shortly after he was arrested.

“We served a warrant on him — complicity to aggravated robbery — and he admitted to taking part in it,” Bowman said.

Bowman praised the work of Akers and Chief Jim Carey, whose work led to the capture of Cochran’s accomplice in the U.S. Bank robbery, Natalie Carter. The Greenup, Ky., woman pleaded guilty in May to her part in the crime.

He also noted that the manhunt for Cochran and Gibson involved the cooperation of numerous agencies in both Kentucky and Ohio, including the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Ironton police, Greenup and Russell police departments, Greenup County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Cochran is a familiar name to local authorities and his string of recent bank heists are not the only blots on his criminal record.

In July 1996 Cochran was found guilty of complicity in the hold up of the Desco Federal Credit Union in Ironton and three other area bank robberies and was sentenced to nine years in prison for those crimes. He was granted judicial release from prison in April 2003.