A Waldport man charged with robbing two Corvallis banks is expected to enter into a plea bargain this morning in Benton County Circuit Court.

Court documents, showing a copy of a note passed to a bank teller, reveal how the robber convinced bank staff they were in danger.

“Do not touch the panic button!” the note read. “Cooperate and we all go home tonight. Don’t and my friends outside start shooting. Give me all your cash from your till. Including the large bills under the drawer. You have 10 seconds.”

Jack David Baird, 44, was charged in January with two counts of second-degree robbery and two counts of first-degree theft in connection with the Dec. 28 robbery of the Washington Mutual Bank at 2055 N.W. Circle Blvd. and the Jan. 10 robbery of the Washington Federal Savings Bank at 1111 N.W. Ninth St.

The robber made away with more than $8,500 on Dec. 28 and $1,300 on Jan. 10.

In both robberies, a man approached a bank teller and handed over a note in which he demanded money. Witnesses described the robber similarly in both robberies, including the over-the-ear cell phone headset he wore, police said.

Corvallis police investigators said the robber left behind a key piece of evidence — the note with a fingerprint on it — during the Dec. 28 robbery.

The Oregon State Police crime lab matched the fingerprint to Baird, whose prints were on file due to 1989 convictions in Los Angeles for forgery and grand theft of property.

Investigators contacted a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy familiar with Baird, who told them that the suspect had experienced legal, personal and financial troubles over the last year, according to court records.

In January 2007, a warrant for Baird’s arrest was issued for failing to appear in a Lincoln County court on a contempt of court charge. That same month, his home went into foreclosure. By February 2007, Baird had filed for bankruptcy.

He filed a workman’s compensation claim for a work-related injury in August 2007. Two months later, he was divorced and living in a trailer.

Although the plea bargain has been negotiated between attorneys, Baird might still opt out of the agreement in court. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Sentencing is expected to take place immediately after the plea is forwarded to the court.