Bank robbery suspect recovers from gunshot
Zions Bank surveillance photo of a July 9 robbery suspect in Twin Falls.
CARLIN — A bank robbery suspect who was shot by Carlin police Wednesday was flown to a Boise hospital for treatment but is expected to be released today and booked into Elko County Jail, according to Sheriff Jim Pitts.
The incident started Wednesday when Carlin police attempted to do a traffic stop on Jake Rowe, 38, of Carlin. Officers recognized Rowe in the vehicle and knew that Twin Falls, Idaho, police were in town to serve warrants against Rowe and his wife Linda for a July 9 armed robbery at Zions Bank in Twin Falls.
The pursuit began when Jake Rowe refused to pull over, according to Carlin Police Chief Bill Bauer. After a chase into the hills north of Carlin, Rowe’s SUV got stuck and he ran on foot for approximately four miles.
Rowe was shot after allegedly pointing a rifle at an officer.
Bauer said the warrants issued against the Rowes out of Twin Falls were for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Jake Rowe’s bail was set at $1 million. Linda Rowe’s bail was set at $500,000.
Linda Rowe, 37, was arrested Wednesday outside her home in Carlin, according to Bauer.
The Carlin police officer who shot Rowe has not been named. Bauer said he has been placed on administrative leave in accordance with protocol.
Bauer said Carlin police, Elko County deputies, Twin Falls police, Elko police, and Nevada Highway Patrol troopers were all involved in the pursuit.
Since almost all of Elko’s law enforcement agencies were involved, an investigation is being conducted by outside agencies in order to remain impartial. Those agencies are the Department of Public Safety Investigation Division, and forensics from Washoe County Crime Lab.
Bauer said Jake Rowe has a history of violence and resisting arrest.
According to court documents filed in Twin Falls, a tip from the friend of a relative of the Rowes led to their arrest.
The Times-News reported that the couple was staying at the La Quinta Inn on July 9 and a relative watched their three children while they went to the bank.
At 11:47 a.m., a man entered the Zions Bank, showed the teller a gun, and was handed a stack of cash totaling $1,573.
Minutes later the Rowes deposited $820 at a nearby Wells Fargo bank.
Nearly seven weeks later, a friend of the relative called police with information on the robbery. Police interviewed the relative, who said when the Rowes returned to the inn Jake Rowe asked for a razor to shave his beard because it was bothering him.
Twin Falls prosecutors filed charges against the Rowes on Tuesday, and were in Carlin on Wednesday to serve the warrants.
According to Elko court documents, Jake Rowe has been accused of committing multiple felonies unrelated to Wednesday’s incident.
In April 2012, a Carlin police officer who was aware that Rowe was wanted on a felony warrant out of another state followed Rowe to his house.
As the officer approached Rowe’s door, the officer was told he would be shot if he tried to enter, states a preliminary hearing transcript from December 2012.
Police later obtained a search warrant and officers found a short-barrel shotgun, a gun that was suspected stolen, and methamphetamine, according to the transcript.
Rowe is scheduled to stand trial in mid-November for possession of a short-barreled shotgun; receiving, possessing or withholding stolen goods; and possession of a controlled substance.
The day before Rowe was bound over to district court, the district attorney’s office filed for the dismissal of separate charges.
The D.A.’s office had alleged Rowe intended to transport Michael Freed and Rebecca Wrigleworth across state lines in November 2011 against their will. Rowe was charged with two counts second-degree kidnapping. He was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly threatened to stab Freed with a knife or scissors, according to a criminal complaint, and with two counts of coercion for allegedly telling the victims they would be “done” if they told police.
All charges were dismissed without prejudice before a preliminary hearing went before a judge, according to court files.
The district attorney’s office did not respond by press time regarding why the charges were dropped.
Earlier this year, Rowe was arrested for drunken driving after an officer pulled him over and detected signs consistent with a person who had used meth.
Rowe was sentenced to 60 days in jail. The sentence was suspended on condition of Rowe serving five days in Elko County Jail.
———
Elko Daily Free Press staff writer Dylan Woolf Harris
Bank Robbery Suspect Appears in Elko Court
LEFT: Security images of the Twin Falls bank robbery suspect taken July 9 at Zions Bank. RIGHT: Jake Rowe of Carlin, Nev., has been identified as the suspect in the robbery, shot and captured Sept. 4 in Nevada.
ELKO, Nev. • The man accused of robbing a Twin Falls bank and leading Nevada police on a 20-mile chase through the desert near Carlin, Nev., appeared in court Monday.
Jake Rowe had a 72-hour hearing in Elko County (Nev.) Justice Court. In such a hearing, held for suspects unable to post bail within 72 hours after arrest, a judge explains the reasons for the arrest and the suspect’s rights, says the Elko County website.
Prosecutors then have seven to 10 days to file charges.
Jake Rowe is being held on a $1 million Idaho bond for the suspected armed bank robbery, a felony.
Monday, Twin Falls police Sgt. John Wilson said local police are waiting and watching for the extradition process to start with Rowe and his wife, Linda Rowe, the suspected getaway driver.
Jake Rowe faces more charges in Nevada; Linda Rowe only has charges in Idaho. She could be brought to Idaho sooner than her husband, Wilson said.
Police say the Rowes conspired to rob Zions Bank in Twin Falls.
On July 9, a man entered the bank about 11:45 a.m., showed a teller a black, semi-automatic handgun and demanded money. The teller handed over a stack of cash totaling $1,573.
Jake Rowe then hopped on a red dirt bike and sped to Linda Rowe, who was waiting in the couple's blue pickup, police said. Then the two deposited $820 in a nearby Wells Fargo Bank and made their way to La Quinta Inn on Pole Line Road, less than a mile from Zions Bank.
On Sept. 4, Twin Falls police had gone to Carlin, Nev., to serve warrants to the Rowes. That led to a 20-mile off-road chase and ended when a police officer shot Rowe after he allegedly pointed a rifle at officers.
Rowe was transported in critical condition to an Elko hospital, then taken to Boise. He was released and taken to the Elko County Jail on Friday.
