Rio Arriba County Man Sentenced to Prison for Robbing Espanola Bank in September 2013

ALBUQUERQUE – Stephen R. Gurule, 35, of Hernandez, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon to 41 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his bank robbery conviction.  Gurule also was ordered to pay full restitution to the bank that was the victim of his crime.

Gurule was arrested on Oct. 3, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Community Bank, located at 411 Carr Lane in Espanola, N.M., on Sept. 27, 2013.  He subsequently was indicted on that same charge on Oct. 30, 2013.

According to court filings, the bank was robbed on the afternoon of Sept. 27, 2013, by a man who slid a note, written on the back of a check, to the teller.  The note demanded money and made referenced to a “bomb.”  After the teller complied with the demand, the bank robber fled from the bank with the cash.  Before leaving the bank, the bank robber placed the bag he was carrying on the floor inside the bank.  Several days later, Gurule turned himself into law enforcement and admitted committing the bank robbery. 

Gurule entered a guilty plea to the indictment on Jan. 3, 2014.

            This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the Espanola Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh.