Iowa man pleads guilty to aiding, abetting in 2015 Mitchell bank robbery
May 11—An Iowa man who was an accomplice in a bank robbery that occurred in Mitchell in 2015 pleaded guilty to aiding abetting Tuesday during a court hearing.
Nolan Kratky, 23, of Ames, Iowa, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting in the first degree robbery that took place in November 2015 at First Dakota National Bank on the north side of Mitchell. Kratky could face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for the class two felony. A grand jury indicted Kratky in early January.
The 2015 robbery involved another man, Jose Campos, of North Sioux City, Nebraska, who demanded an undisclosed amount of money at First Dakota National Bank on North Main Street by forcing a bank teller to his vehicle with a knife. According to State's Attorney Jim Miskimins, Kratky was the driver of the vehicle that he and Campos, 22, used during and after the bank robbery.
"Kratky was contacted by Campos to assist him in the robbery. He drove Mr. Campos to the north branch bank, and during the course of their travel he learned what Mr. Campos' intent was," Miskimins said. "Mr. Campos left the bank and got into the car that was being operated by Nolan Kratky. They drove away from Mitchell and returned to their homes."
Kratky received a portion of the money that Campos robbed from the bank, Miskimins said. Attorney Zach Flood, who is representing Kratky in the case, reiterated that Kratky never left the vehicle throughout the entire duration of the robbery.
Campos turned himself into authorities in 2020, nearly five years after the robbery. Shortly after, he was indicted by a grand jury. Campos was sentenced to serve five years in prison and pay restitution fees amounting to $100,000. While Campos was given a 25-year prison sentence by Judge Chris Giles on Jan. 19, he decided to suspend 20 years of the sentence, pointing to Campos' efforts to rehabilitate himself since the robbery and his act of turning himself in.
Giles ordered a presentence investigation report to be completed prior to sentencing Kratky with the goal of learning more about him and his past. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20. Kratky was recently released from jail after posting a portion of his $20,000 cash bond.
"Mr. Campos was ordered to serve a significant amount of time in the penitentiary, but a lot of it was suspended. There are a lot of factors behind that even though this was a very dangerous situation... He has a tremendous amount of time hanging over his head, but I do not know anything about you," Giles said to Kratky, who was in attendance during Tuesday's hearing at the Davison County Public Safety Center. "It's very possible that you may get something like that from the court, but I don't know you and your situation. That's why I need a presentence report."