Crime Doesn’t Pay! Parker’s Bank Robbery Leads to 13-year Sentence

Pocatello — Steven James Parker, 50, who most recently lived in Gooding, Mountain Home, and Boise, was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for robbing the Bank of Commerce in American Falls on September 1, 2023, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit stated Thursday.

According to court records, on September 1, 2023, a guy entered the Bank of Commerce in American Falls with a firearm. He charged toward the first teller station, pointing a revolver straight in the tellers’ faces and ordering them to fill a grocery bag with cash.

Both tellers put money in the bag, and the man departed the bank, saying “I’ll be back.” Police arrived at the bank and discovered photos of the thief on surveillance cameras at the bank and neighboring businesses, as well as photos of the robber’s truck.

Photos surfaced on social media, and a source revealed that the robber was Parker. Police traveled to Parker’s home in Mountain Home and his friend’s house in Boise, where they obtained search warrants and discovered the gun and Parker’s truck used in the heist. Police also discovered part of the bank money seized during the crime.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill imposed a 13-year sentence that includes a six-year sentence for the bank robbery and a seven-year sentence for the use of a gun in the commission of the bank robbery, for a total of 13 years. Judge Winmill also ordered Parker to pay $11,106 in reparations to the bank and serve five years of supervised release after his jail sentence. He pleaded guilty to the crimes on January 24, 2024.

Parker had three prior bank robbery convictions, one federal in 2002 and two in state court. Parker had just been on parole from state custody for about five months when he committed the bank heist in American Falls.

U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit praised the collaboration of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the American Falls Police Department, the Power County Sheriff’s Office, the Power County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, the Blackfoot Police Department, the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, and the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force.