DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Wisconsin

For Immediate Release

Thursday, July 12, 2018
Scott C. Blader
, United States Attorney
Contact: Robert A. Anderson

Madison Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Robbing Stoughton & Portage Banks

MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Kenny Furdge, 24, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson for armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during the robbery.  Furdge was sentenced to 14 years on the bank robbery charge, and a consecutive seven years in federal prison for brandishing a gun during the robbery of the Home Savings Bank in Stoughton, Wisconsin, on October 17, 2017. 

 

Furdge pleaded guilty to these charges on March 27, 2018.  As part of the plea agreement, Furdge also admitted that he robbed the Bank Mutual in Portage, Wisconsin on September 27, 2017, and that firearms were brandished during that robbery.                                       

 

Furdge and Jay’von Flemming entered the bank in Stoughton on October 17, pointed guns at the bank tellers, and demanded money.  While in a vehicle after leaving the bank, they were observed and pursued by a Dane County Sheriff’s deputy as they headed toward Madison.  During the pursuit on the Beltline Highway in Madison, Furdge attempted to elude police while driving at speeds over 100 miles per hour and crashed the vehicle near Seminole Highway.  Furdge and Flemming were apprehended after a brief foot chase. The money taken in the robbery and firearms were recovered from the abandoned vehicle. 

 

Jay’von Flemming pleaded guilty to the same charges in April 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Peterson on August 3. 

 

In sentencing Furdge, Judge Peterson expressed concern for the need to protect the public from what appeared to be Furdge’s long history of impulsive violence toward others, combined with a lack of appreciation for the impact his conduct had on those people, including the innocent victims seriously traumatized by the armed bank robberies.  Judge Peterson considered the high speed chase as further dangerous behavior demonstrating the need to protect the public from Furdge’s conduct by incarcerating him for a significant period. 

 

 Judge Peterson also ordered Furdge to pay restitution for the money taken in the Portage robbery that was never recovered. 

 

The charges against Furdge was the result of an investigation conducted by the Stoughton and Portage Police Departments, Dane County Sheriff’s Department,  Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson. 

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

 

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St. Paul Field Division