Duane Earl Pope

Duane Earl Pope
US BOP inmate photo
Born (1943-02-08) February 8, 1943
McPherson, Kansas, U.S.[1]
Nationality American
Education Degree Industrial Education
Alma mater McPherson College
Occupation Farm Worker, student
Known for 3 murders, bank robbery
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Criminal charge
  • State Charges: 3 counts Murder 1st Degree, Shoot W/I to Kill, Wound, Maim
  • Federal Charges: Armed Robbery
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment
Criminal status Incarcerated
Comments Next Parole Review Date: September 2026
Details
Killed Andreas Kjeldgaard, Glenn Hendrickson, Lois Ann Hothan
Injured Franklin Kjeldgaard paralyzed for life
Weapons Ruger .38 semiautomatic pistol
Imprisoned at Nebraska State Penitentiary

Duane Earl Pope (born February 8, 1943)[2] is an American convicted murderer serving a life sentence for one of the bloodiest bank robberies in modern times, the 1965 robbery of the Farmers State Bank in Big Springs, Nebraska, in which three people were murdered and one left severely injured.

Pope grew up on a small, 160-acre (65 ha) farm outside Roxbury, Kansas, an unincorporated town in the northeast portion of McPherson County. One of eight siblings, he was described as shy, quiet, and athletic as a child. He grew up with a fascination for guns and tractors. He graduated in 1965 from McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas with a degree in industrial education, although he lacked the teaching component of that degree that would have let him obtain a job teaching high school industrial arts. He had the idea to rob the Big Springs bank while working in wheat fields there one summer while he was in college. In college, he bought several caterpillar tractor/bulldozers and was contemplating starting an excavation businesses but needed money for a trailer.[3]

In preparation for the Big Springs robbery, he built handmade silencers for his pistols in the machine shops at his college and experimented with them in his family's barn. He also fashioned a breastplate out of a piece of a bulldozer blade. Two days after graduating from college, Pope borrowed fifty dollars from his father and said he was heading for Oklahoma to look for work. Instead, he went to Salina, Kansas, rented a new car, and drove to Nebraska.[4]

Late in the morning of June 4, 1965, after circling the bank and watching for the morning customers to leave, Pope conversed with a banker pretending to be a landowner seeking a loan. He then pulled out a Ruger .38 semiautomatic pistol and ordered the bank employees to fill his briefcase with cash. After getting what he could (about $1,600), Pope ordered the four bank workers to lie face down on the floor, where he shot them execution-style in the back and in the neck. Three of the victims, bank president Andreas "Andy" Kjeldgaard, 77, cashier Glenn Hendrickson, 59, and bookkeeper Lois Ann Hothan, 35, died instantly. The fourth, Franklin Kjeldgaard, 25, survived but was paralyzed for life.[5] Franklin Kjeldgaard, who returned to work at the bank and served as president until 2004, when his family sold it, died July 6, 2012, aged 72.[6][7]

Pope made a circuitous exit from Big Springs, spotted by several witnesses. He tossed his gun and breastplate along the road; they were recovered by the FBI. He dropped some of the money off at his family home and returned the car to Hertz in Salina. He then traveled by bus and plane to Tijuana, Mexico, by way of Fort Worth and El Paso, Texas. In San Diego, California, Pope discovered that authorities had deduced his identity. He next went to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he gambled and enjoyed himself.[3]

Pope appeared on the FBI 10 Most Wanted List for one day.[8] Upon reading an appeal for him to surrender issued by the president of his college, Pope flew to Kansas City, Missouri, where he turned himself in. He gave a 19-page confession to Kansas City police and was extradited to Nebraska.[3]

Pope's lawyers argued that he was insane and had schizoid personality disorder.[1]

He was ruled competent to stand trial and was tried in 1965 in front of a jury in the U.S. District Court in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in 1970 in state court by a judge in Deuel County, Nebraska. Both times, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. His federal sentence was upheld by the Eighth Circuit in 1967, with Judge Harry Blackmun writing the court opinion. His sentence was commuted to life in prison by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 as part of the Furman v. Georgia package of cases that determined that the death penalty, as then practiced, was unconstitutional. Pope remained at USP Leavenworth (Register Number: 85021-132) until July 1, 2016. On that date, aged 73, he was granted federal parole and then transported to Nebraska to begin serving three life sentences handed down in 1970 by the State of Nebraska (Department Correctional Services ID: 84196).[9] From 1978-83, while incarcerated, Pope was married to a college girlfriend, Ramona Lowe.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Stephen, Kamie (July 1, 2016). "Man who committed bloody Nebraska bank robbery in 1965 will leave prison Friday — but he's far from free". World-Herald News Service. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  2. ↑ Pope profile, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services website; accessed October 8, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Grove, Noel (2008). Anyone But Duane. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4389-0990-5.
  4. ↑ Graham, Frank (December 4, 2008). "North Platte Bulletin - Big Springs bank robbery recounted in new book". North Platte Bulletin. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Graham, Frank (December 4, 2008). "Big Springs bank robbery recounted in new book". North Platte Bulletin. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ KAMIE, Stephen (June 29, 2016). "Murderer Duane Earl Pope to find home in Nebraska penitentiary". starherald.com. BH Media Group, Inc. World-Herald News Service. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Riley (July 1, 2016). "Duane Earl Pope, responsible for bloody Big Springs bank robbery, returns to Nebraska". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Images of Duane Earl Pope". Fbi.gov. pp. 360–61. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Nebraska Inmate Details". dcs-inmatesearch.ne.gov. Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  • Duane Earl Pope v. United States of America, February 13, 1967
  • Harvey, Adrielle (December 12, 2008). "Let out and locked up; Days after 1965 graduation, McPherson alum robs bank, kills 3". The McPherson College Spectator. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  • Profile, murderpedia.org
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