Malden Man Who Robbed Market With Airsoft Gun Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

BOSTON – A Malden man was sentenced on Friday, June 21, 2024 in federal court in Boston for robbing a local market using an airsoft gun in December 2021.

John Schurko, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to three years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. In February 2024, Schurko pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery. 

On Dec. 12, 2021 at approximately 8 p.m., Schurko entered the Harvard Market in Malden, displayed what appeared to be a black handgun, went behind the counter and demanded money from the clerk. On Dec. 16, 2021, Schurko’s getaway vehicle was located in a hotel parking lot in Medford where he was subsequently arrested. A search of the vehicle recovered, among other things, a black Airsoft gun that resembled a real firearm. 

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; John E. Mawn Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin; Medford Police Chief Jack Buckley; Billerica Police Chief Roy Frost; and Woburn Police Chief Robert F. Rufo Jr. made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.