Man gets 14 years for bank robbery

BOISE – A Paul, Idaho, man was sentenced to 14 years and three months in federal prison Tuesday for robbing a bank in the town in 2003.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill sentenced John Benjamin Kurkowski, 24, on charges of bank robbery and using a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was indicted on the charges in April.

Winmill’s sentence included an enhancement for shooting Minidoka County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy White on Sept. 23, 2003, as White and other officers tried to arrest Kurkowski at Cactus Petes casino in Jackpot, Nev.

An Elko, Nev., judge sentenced Kurkowski to two consecutive eight- to 20-year prison terms in February for attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon.

Kurkowski pleaded guilty then as part of an agreement to have his Nevada sentences run concurrently with any federal bank robbery sentence.

He will serve a minimum of 23 years before becoming eligible for parole.

On Sept. 19, 2003, Kurkowski robbed the Key Bank branch in Paul at gunpoint.

The teller gave Kurkowski money, including five marked $20 bills.

He jumped on the counter during the robbery leaving a footprint, according to court documents.

Law enforcement agencies traced him to a Jackpot hotel, where officers found Kurkowski staying under an assumed name.

Members of the FBI, the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Department, the Twin Falls Police Department and the Elko County Sheriff’s Department found him with $7,800 in cash, including four of the five marked bills.

Officers also recovered shoes matching the tread print left on the bank counter.

Kurkowski met the officers at his ninth-floor hotel room and fired four shots.

Police reports say three bullets hit White – one hit below his bulletproof vest and two hit his thigh.

White survived the shooting and has returned to work with limited duties.