Bank Robber Admits Hatchet Job

COEUR D’ALENE - Charles Ray Bartkowiak, 34, of Hayden, Idaho, pleaded guilty on April 25, 2017, to Bank Robbery, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced. Bartkowiak was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Coeur d’Alene on December 13, 2016.

According to the plea agreement, Bartkowkiak admitted that on November 28, 2016, he entered the Bank CdA in Hayden, Idaho and placed a hatchet on the counter of the teller window. He demanded all the teller’s cash and left with $6,366 in U.S. currency. Bartkowiak was identified from video surveillance and law enforcement found some of the money and the hatchet in his car. He admitted to the crime and was arrested.

The charge of Bank Robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to 3 years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for July 26, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF). The NIVCTF is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Idaho State Police, Post Falls Police Department, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Department of Corrections.