SIOUX CITY – An Iowa sex offender once robbed a bank, got caught and sent to prison, and then decided to try the same caper again – ending up with the same result
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 (pictured at top) 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.
Bird-Necklace was convicted for sexual abuse 2nd degree in 2006; his victim was a female teen.