Jeffrey Rutherford
A Soddy Daisy man who robbed two credit union branches while unarmed has been sentenced to serve four years in federal prison.
Jeffrey Rutherford, 35, appeared before Judge Travis McDonough.
Authorities said on Aug. 19, 2016, Rutherford entered the Comtrust Federal Credit Union on Gunbarrel Road while dressed all in black and with his face covered. He approached two tellers and shouted for them to put large bills in his back pack and not pull any alarms. He then fled with a large sum of money.
Just 11 days later, Rutherford pulled off a similar holdup of the same credit union at its Highway 153 branch. In this one, he approached a teller and said, "Give me all your money. No small bills. Hurry up bitches." He again fled with a large sum of money.
Rutherford was arrested by Soddy Daisy Police on burglary charges on Aug. 2, 2017. That same day he gave a confession to FBI agents about the two credit union robberies.
Judge McDonough said it was in Rutherford's favor that he was not armed and did not make any threats. But he said those who experienced the holdups "will never forget that day" and he said it might cause some bank employees to go into another line of work.
Rutherford had suspended sentences revoked several times, but he had spent little time in jail, it was stated. He was ordered to make $5,000 in restitution.
He told his family in court, "I made the biggest mistake of my life. For the last 13 months my head has been cleared out. Things can just get better from here."