For robbing several banks in the Denver area, a guy known to authorities as the “Penguin Bandit” was sentenced last week to more than 13 years in federal prison.
According to court filings, Samuel Richard Ruthstrom, 42, robbed four banks and attempted to rob a fifth in a few weeks this year before reaching a plea deal with federal authorities. On five charges of bank robbery, a court sentenced him Thursday to 160 months in concurrent prison, three years of supervised release, and thousands of dollars in reparations.
Matt Kirsch, the U.S. attorney, stated on Monday that he “strongly” supports these kinds of punishments since “repeat offenders are a menace to our communities.”
Ruthstrom’s first heist at the Zing Credit Union occurred on January 2, and the responding officers were Denver police working with an FBI task team. Ruthstrom was wearing a ski mask when he gave the teller a message requesting all of the money from her drawer that was devoid of dye packs and tracers, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the lawsuit, Ruthstrom was given $385 and ran away.
“I need what’s in your drawer,” Ruthstrom said to a teller at a Canvas Credit Union branch a few days later while wearing a ski mask. On the afternoon of January 8, he stole $400 and ran away.
According to the complaint, he committed his third heist the next day at a separate Canvas Credit Union facility, when he gave the teller a note demanding $10,000. Ruthstrom was informed by the teller that he had set off a holdup alert by turning on the cash dispenser’s “distress system,” which distributes $400 in $20 bills.
The complaint claims that after Ruthstrom requested additional money twice, the cashier handed him $1,200 in total before he left.
On January 17 and 18, Ruthstrom allegedly demanded that the tellers give him cash when he struck two Wells Fargo stores. The teller was asked to turn over $10,000 in $100 and $50 currencies in the note from the robbery on January 18.
The criminal complaint contained a picture of the note.
“I donāt care if you have to get them from all the drawers,” as per the note. “Now hurry up, move like your life depends on it because it does.”
With his hand in his pocket, the teller suspected Ruthstrom may be carrying a pistol, but he kept telling him he couldn’t assist him. When the teller refused to return the note, Ruthstrom went without any money.
šØš§ HELP @denverpolice IDENTIFY PenguinBandit š§šØ Multiple bank robberies in January. White male, 35-45 yrs 5’11” – 6’1″, heavy build Distinct “waddle” šØ call 720.913.7867. anonymous & $$ rewards #SaferDenver #CrimeAlert #CrimeStoppers #MDCS pic.twitter.com/tUVnViRjpO
ā MetroDenverCrimeStoppers (@CrimeStoppersCO) January 19, 2024
On January 19, a Crime Stoppers social media warning referred to the robber as the “Penguin Bandit” because to his bulky physique and pronounced “waddle.”
Investigators discovered that Ruthstrom was out on parole due to a prior state burglary conviction after receiving a tip that named him a few days later.
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Ruthstrom walked like the suspect in the bank heist, according to the FBI member on the investigation task force who reviewed security footage from his visit to a parole office.
Ruthstrom’s phone pinged neighboring mobile towers during the crimes and left right away after, according to a search warrant for his phone records. According to the complaint, in four of the occasions, his phone moved away from the banks and toward the location of a treatment center he was to visit as part of his parole.
According to the lawsuit, Ruthstrom’s Jeep Grand Cherokee was also spotted close to one of the crimes.
