A Morrow County man is headed to federal prison for more than 14 years after holding up the same Polaris-area bank twice in just over two months. James Travis Scurlock, 44, of Cardington, was sentenced to 171 months in prison on April 17, 2026, after admitting he robbed the Huntington Bank branch on Gemini Place in March and May 2025. Prosecutors said the two stickups netted him about $41,000 in cash.
The 171‑month term was reported by WBNS, which noted that the judge imposed the sentence after federal prosecutors walked through the case at Friday’s hearing. According to the station, the punishment lines up with the sentencing range recommended in a plea agreement Scurlock reached last October when he entered his guilty plea.
Robberies at the Polaris‑area bank
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, Scurlock robbed the Huntington Bank on Gemini Place on March 6 and May 16, 2025. Investigators say he walked in posing as a customer, then pulled a handgun, ordered tellers to stuff cash into his backpack and took off. About $13,700 was taken in the March robbery and roughly $27,700 in the May incident, according to the affidavit cited in the release, which also lays out the statutory penalties for bank robbery and for using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Plea deal and court records
Court records show Scurlock entered his guilty plea on Oct. 8, 2025, under a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) agreement that locked in a recommended sentencing range of 144 to 171 months and required him to forfeit certain property and pay restitution. Those details are outlined in filings available on GovInfo, which also includes the magistrate judge’s report recommending that the plea be accepted.
Charges and prosecution
According to Leagle, Scurlock pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery and two counts of using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, charges that carry mandatory minimum prison terms and steep federal penalties. District Judge James L. Graham accepted the plea and adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation in an order filed Dec. 19, 2025, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah R. Litton handled the prosecution.
Federal enforcement context
Local reporting has tied the case to a broader federal crime crackdown. 10TV reported that prosecutors treated Scurlock’s case as part of Operation Take Back America. The Department of Justice describes Operation Take Back America as a nationwide initiative that concentrates federal muscle on cartels, transnational criminal organizations and violent offenders, coordinating work through task forces such as OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhoods at the district level, according to the Department of Justice.
Scurlock will serve his time in federal custody, and the judgment includes forfeiture and restitution requirements consistent with his plea agreement, according to the case filings. The FBI’s Cincinnati Division helped investigate the robberies, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has framed the prosecution as part of its push to keep violent offenders off central Ohio streets.
