The notorious “Penguin Bandit” received a federal prison sentence of over 13 years for his involvement in a series of bank robberies in the Denver, Colorado region.
Samuel Richard Ruthstrom, 42, reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors following a string of bank robberies and an attempted robbery earlier this year. Court documents reveal that he pleaded guilty to robbing four banks and attempting to rob a fifth. On Thursday, a judge sentenced him to serve 160 months concurrently for the five counts of bank robbery. In addition to the prison term, Ruthstrom will also face three years of supervised release and will be required to pay thousands of dollars in restitution.
According to Matt Kirsch, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, he is firmly in favor of imposing severe sentences for repeat offenders, as they pose a significant threat to our communities.
The attorney handling Ruthstrom’s case chose not to provide any comment on the matter, citing the policy of the federal public defender’s office.
The Denver Police Department worked together with an FBI task force to handle the case and were the officers who responded to Ruthstrom’s initial robbery at the Zing Credit Union on Jan. 2. As stated in the criminal complaint filed against him, Ruthstrom wore a ski mask while handing the teller a note demanding all the money from her drawer that did not contain dye packs or tracers.
According to the complaint, Ruthstrom took off with $385.
Just a few days later, Ruthstrom entered a Canvas Credit Union branch wearing a ski mask and demanded the teller to hand over the cash, saying “I need what’s in your drawer.” He managed to escape with $400 on the afternoon of January 8th.
The complaint states that Ruthstrom requested additional funds, prompting the teller to comply two more times, resulting in a total of $1,200 being handed over before he departed.
On January 17 and 18, Ruthstrom targeted two Wells Fargo branches, where he demanded cash from the tellers. In the second robbery, which took place on January 18, he specifically asked for $10,000 in one hundred and fifty dollar bills.
The criminal complaint included a photograph of the note.
“I don’t care if you have to search through every single drawer,” the message stated firmly. “You need to hurry and act quickly, as if your life depended on it, because it truly does.”
The teller was afraid of Ruthstrom, who had his hand in his pocket, possibly indicating he had a gun. Despite Ruthstrom’s insistence, the teller firmly stated that he couldn’t assist him. Ruthstrom demanded the note back, but the teller stood his ground and refused. Eventually, Ruthstrom left empty-handed.
On January 19, a crime stopper alert was circulated on social media, referring to the robber as the “Penguin Bandit” due to his noticeable heavy build and unique waddle.
🚨🐧 HELP @denverpolice IDENTIFY PenguinBandit 🐧🚨 Multiple bank robberies in January. White male, 35-45 yrs 5'11" – 6'1", heavy build Distinct "waddle" 🚨 call 720.913.7867. anonymous & $$ rewards #SaferDenver #CrimeAlert #CrimeStoppers #MDCS pic.twitter.com/tUVnViRjpO
— MetroDenverCrimeStoppers (@CrimeStoppersCO) January 19, 2024
Just a few days later, law enforcement received a tip identifying a man named Ruthstrom as a potential suspect. It was discovered that Ruthstrom was currently on parole for a prior burglary conviction. The FBI member assigned to the investigation task force reviewed surveillance footage of Ruthstrom’s visit to a parole office and observed similarities in his gait to that of the bank robbery suspect.
According to the complaint, the search warrant for Ruthstrom’s phone records revealed that his phone pinged nearby cell towers during the time of the robberies and left shortly after they occurred. Additionally, in four of the cases, his phone moved away from the banks and headed towards the location of a treatment facility that Ruthstrom was obligated to attend as part of his parole.
According to the complaint, Ruthstrom’s Jeep Grand Cherokee was also spotted near one of the robberies.
