The Naha District Court found two U.S. Marines guilty Wednesday of robbing a cab driver at the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Foster in Okinawa in January.
Lance Cpls. Henry Morgan, 20, and Reginald Lowery, 21, were sentenced to prison terms of three years, and two years and six months, respectively.
Presiding Judge Hiroyuki Yoshii said they "made the victim feel a great sense of fear and shook up the local community."
According to the court, the defendants conspired with another marine, who has since returned to the United States, to threaten a cab driver with a knife and rob the driver of about 5,000 yen and $5 at the camp, also known as Camp Zukeran, in the town of Chatan on Jan. 7.
An investigative arm of the U.S. military posted a $2,000 reward for tips that could lead to the arrest of the culprits. Twenty days after the robbery, it announced that it had the two marines in custody.
The marines were handed over to the Naha District Public Prosecutor's Office after indictment.