Really... I mean really?

SATURDAY OCTOBER 20, 2007
A man matching the description of a suspect who robbed Zions Bank in Burley on Sept. 12 returned to rob the same bank Wednesday just after 4 p.m. Following a high-speed chase that led officers from Cassia County Sheriff’s Department, Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Department and Idaho State Police (ISP) over highways, fields and gravel roads west of Burley, the suspect was apprehended when he drove his vehicle off Highway 30 into a canal near Murtaugh.
Cassia County Undersheriff Cary Bristol said the suspect later identified himself as Steven Parker, 33, of Jerome. Background checks uncovered a number of warrants for Parker’s arrest, including at least one federal warrant.After being taken into custody, Bristol said Parker confessed to committing the Sept. 12 robbery of Zions Bank as well as Wednesday’s. Bristol said it appears Parker was also involved in a 2002 robbery of the same bank n a crime for which he was convicted. Parker violated the terms of his probation and had been on a federal wanted list for the past nine months.The first report of Wednesday’s robbery went out as Parker exited Zions Bank on the northwest corner of Overland Avenue and Main Street in downtown Burley. Bristol said a nearby businessman, hearing the call on a police scanner, reported seeing the suspect drive away from the bank in a late model Ford pickup. As Parker drove west on Main Street, he passed a city employee who also heard the robbery reported. The city employee, whose identity was not released, followed Parker west on Highway 30 and was able to read part of the truck’s license plate. Police say, when Parker began driving at a dangerous speed, the city employee stopped following him.By that time, Cassia County Sheriff’s Department personnel had dispatched a number of its own units to engage Parker, and requested the aid of several ISP and Twin Falls units. “Twin Falls and the State Police got involved in this and they really helped us out a lot,” Bristol said. Officers briefly lost track of Parker when he drove south of Highway 30 into the fields in western Cassia County. But Cassia Deputy Eric Nebeker said he spotted Parker’s vehicle as the suspect drove over a rise just east of Milner Dam. He said it appeared the suspect would try to cross the dam into Jerome County. As he gave chase Parker turned southward, back toward the highway. Bristol said Parker reentered Highway 30 on the border of Cassia and Twin Falls counties. The chase continued until Parker drove off the highway near mile post 230, lost control of his vehicle and slid into a canal. Nebeker said the pickup sank quickly with Parker inside. Parker was able to escape and swim to the canal bank, where officers were waiting to take him into custody. Cassia County Sheriff’s Department Dive Rescue Team members later found the pickup under water just north of a Highway 30 bridge over the canal. A towing company extracted the vehicle and transported it to the Cassia County impound lot. Bristol said the sheriff’s department will now confer with the county prosecutor’s office about the necessity of a search warrant for the pickup. Until then, he said, it is not known how much money Parker stole or if the money he stole is still inside the pickup. During questioning, Parker confessed to committing both the Sept. 12 and Wednesday’s robberies, Bristol said. Parker told police the weapon he used Wednesday was a BB gun. Nebeker said it was discovered the pickup Parker was driving was stolen from a Nevada owner. Its license plates also appear to have been stolen, as they are registered to a car belonging to a resident of Jerome County.
Copyright © 2007 South Idaho Press