UPDATE 8/05/10 @ 11 pm
ROME, Ga. (WSAZ) -- A legacy of crime, spanning at least six states may have come to an end Thursday as the man behind more than twenty bank robbers goes to jail for good.

Tony Artrip was on America's Most Wanted; he was on the US Marshal's top 15 wanted list; now, he's behind bars for life according to a judge.

Artrip's crime list spans time and states, starting with a 1995 bank robbery in Scioto County. He pleaded guilty to robbing banks in West Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. By 2007, he'd robbed at least twenty.

Artrip's considered to be somewhat of a jailhouse Houdini. Back in 1997, he was the first to escape from what was believed to be an escape-proof Boyd county detention center.

In 2007, he busted out of Kentucky's Grant County Detention Center -- he was later spotted in his hometown of Ashland and spawned a manhunt that kept residents on edge.

Artrip skipped out of a North Carolina jail in 2009, before robbing a bank in Marmet and getting arrested in Charleston.

When asked if that would be his last jail escape, Artrip told WSAZ.com, "Probably not."

Artrip is 38-years-old. Police say he probably returns to Ashland because his daughter and immediate family still live there.

Tony Artrip, 38, of Ashland, Ky. was sentenced Thursday during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Rome, Ga.

In June, Artrip pleaded guilty to multiple counts of armed robbery.

Prosecutors say Artrip robbed five banks in Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

Published reports say that besides the two consecutive life sentences, Artrip was also ordered to serve three 20-year sentences concurrent with a previous 40-year sentence he is already serving. He was also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the banks he robbed.

Because of the federal “three strikes” law, Artrip will not be eligible for parole.

"Today's sentencing puts an end to the criminal career of a man who brazenly made his way across half of the United States robbing banks and terrorizing citizens, and brings justice and closure to the many victims of his crimes," said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

One published report says Artrip was supposed to be sentenced on August 27, but it pushed forward due to his eagerness to be sentenced.

Prosecutors say Anthony Ray "Tony" Artrip began the crime spree after his June 2007 escape from the Grant County Detention Center in Kentucky. They say he robbed banks in Calhoun, Ga.; Mt. Airy, N.C.; Princeton, W.Va.; Marmet, W.Va.; and Frenchtown Township, Mich.

Authorities say he was finally arrested in a Pittsburgh hotel in October 2007 after crawling into an air vent to try to escape.

Artrip was sentenced to a "Super Max" prison in Colorado but escaped from a North Carolina jail in 2009 while being transferred to different counties to face state robbery charges.

Artrip and two other men escaped from the Edgecomb County Detention Center in April 2009, made their way to West Virginia in a stolen pickup truck and robbed a bank in Marmet -- leading police on a high speed chase into Charleston where they were captured.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates says Tuesday the guilty plea "puts an end to the career of a man who unabashedly made his way across half of the United States robbing banks, victimizing citizens, and escaping justice."

He could face life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on
Aug. 27.

Tony Artrip, of Ashland, Ky was indicted for the a 2007 bank robbery in Mercer County where prosecutors say he stole $1,600 from the First Century Bank.

Artrip was also indicted for the April 17, 2009 robbery of the City National Bank branch in Marmet. Prosecutors say in that robbery he took nearly $53,000.

At the time of the Kanawha County robbery, Artrip and two other men were on the run after escaping hours earlier from a detention center in North Carolina.

Shortly after the robbery, a Charleston Police officer spotted a white pickup truck matching the description of the robbery getaway vehicle getting gas at the Shop-N-Go on the east of Charleston. When the officer started toward them, the suspects took off.

Charleston Police chased the truck throughout the east end for a short time at speeds of up to 90+ miles per hour before they spotted it in a driveway near the corner of Greenbrier and Washington St., across from the entrance of the State Capitol.

Officers with the Charleston Police Traffic Division then chased the suspects, who had jumped over a fence to get away. All three suspects were arrested a short time later.

Shortly after his arrest, Artrip told WSAZ.com that he needed gas money so he decided to rob the bank.

This was nothing new for Artrip. In 1997, he pulled off the first successful escape from the Boyd County Detention Center with two other inmates.

In 2007, he escaped from the Grant County Detention Center in Kentucky. After a five month chase and a feature on America's Most Wanted, Artrip was arrested in Pennsylvania in October 2007.

Artrip was convicted of bank robbery when he escaped in 2007. He was accused of robbing several banks in West Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, Indiana and Georgia.

Artrip was supposed to be serving time in a high security federal prison in Colorado. At the time of the Marmet Bank robbery it was unclear why he was in jail in North Carolina.

The other two escapees were David Lee Cox, 29, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and James Butler, 38, from North Carolina.