Convicted bank robber vanishes after leaving prison and strikes again in Alaska, feds say
A man disappeared while on supervised release after serving time in prison for a bank robbery and then emerged months later when he went into a credit union claiming to be armed and demanded money, federal prosecutors in Alaska said.
James Surrells, 54, of Anchorage, was sentenced to 13-plus years behind bars in connection with the 2024 credit union robbery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska said in a March 5 news release. He’ll serve three years of supervised release when he’s out.
His attorney declined to comment in a March 6 email to McClatchy News.
In a court filing, the attorney said Surrells struggles with addiction, and the robbery “was driven by desperation, not greed or malice.” Although Surrells claimed to have a gun in the robbery, he “possessed no weapon,” according to the court filing.
Surrells is accused of entering a credit union in July 2024 and demanding money. He said he was carrying a gun, “and when the teller paused, Surrells (threatened) to produce the firearm,” according to prosecutors. The teller handed over $450 and Surrells left, prosecutors said, adding that he was arrested later in the day.
Surrells was on supervised release after being convicted in a 2014 bank robbery, prosecutors said. In that robbery, he wore a disguise and demanded money, showing a teller the butt of a handgun, prosecutors said at the time. He took off with $1,210, prosecutors said.
Surrells got out of prison in 2023, but he “absconded” after four months on supervised release “and his whereabouts remained unknown” until the 2024 robbery, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty in October to credit union robbery, according to prosecutors. His sentence includes 12 years for the robbery and 16 months for violating supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman said “perpetrators with extensive criminal histories who continue to commit crimes show a clear disregard for the law and will be held accountable,” per the release.
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