Bank robber sentenced to 13 years for robbing American Falls Bank

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A 50-year-old, who most recently lived in Gooding, Mountain Home and Boise, was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for the Sept. 1, 2023 robbery of the Bank of Commerce in American Falls, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced Thursday.

According to court records, on Sept. 1, 2023, a man entered the Bank of Commerce in American Falls, holding a handgun. He charged toward the first teller’s station and pointed a gun directly at the tellers’ faces, ordering them to fill a grocery bag with money. Both tellers put money in the bag, and the man left the bank, stating, “I’ll be back,” on his way out. Police arrived at the bank and located photos of the robber from cameras in the bank and from nearby businesses and also found photos of the robber’s truck.

Photos were circulated on social media, and a tipster stated the robber was Steven James Parker. Police went to Parker’s residence in Mountain Home and to his friend’s residence in Boise where they obtained search warrants and located the gun and Parker’s truck used in the robbery. Police also found some of the bank money taken in the robbery.

The 13-year sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill is a combined sentence of six years for the bank robbery and a consecutive seven-year sentence for the use of the gun in the commission of the bank robbery, for a total sentence of 13 years. Judge Winmill also ordered Parker to pay restitution to the bank of $11,106 and to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He pleaded guilty to the crimes on January 24, 2024.

Parker has three prior convictions for bank robbery, including a 2002 federal conviction and two other state court bank robbery convictions. Parker had been out on parole from state custody for only about five months when he committed the bank robbery in American Falls.