Man Who Robbed Same Bank Twice Sent to Federal Prison

Press Release

Bird Necklace robbed the victim bank in 2014, and had recently finished serving his sentence for that robbery when he robbed the same bank again.

A man who was convicted of robbing a particular bank in 2014, was sentenced today to more than five years in federal prison for -- again -- robbing the same bank.

Jonathan Bird-Necklace, age 32, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 26, 2024, guilty plea to bank robbery.

Evidence in the case revealed that Bird-Necklace was discharged from Iowa Department of Corrections on January 10, 2024, for the 2014 bank robbery. 13-days later, on January 23, 2024, Bird-Necklace entered a particular bank, passed a teller a note demanding $15,000, and threatening to shoot him if he raised the alarm. Despite wearing a disguise, masking his movements, and briefly escaping, officers of the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department solved the robbery and apprehended Bird-Necklace within just hours of the crime.

Beyond his repeated bank robberies, Bird-Necklace has repeatedly committed other serious offenses, and violated the rules of the Iowa Department of Corrections while he was incarcerated.

Bird-Necklace was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 63 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Bird-Necklace is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by Sioux City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 24-4024.

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Updated November 18, 2024