NORTHAMPTON - A judge Tuesday released an alleged bank robber from jail so he could enroll in a drug treatment program.

William W. Oldershaw, 25, of 42 Amherst Road, Sunderland, has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to unarmed robbery. He has been held on $5,000 since April, when he allegedly stole $249 from Bank of America in Amherst. Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty II released him Tuesday on his own recognizance, on the condition he report immediately to the Phoenix House in Springfield.

Defense attorney Jonah Goldsmith said Oldershaw asked his parents not to post bail so he could "dry out," and had applied to the nine- to 12-month Phoenix program on his own.

Oldershaw told investigators he carried out the robbery to feed a heroin habit, according to police.

Oldershaw and his alleged accomplice, Shayna Henckel-Miller, 19, are due back in court Sept. 12.

- JAMES F. LOWE