NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN
Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room
5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106
www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html
NOVEMBER 1, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IOWA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO TWO BANK ROBBERIES IN NORTHWEST MO
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Iowa man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the armed robbery of banks in Tarkio and Craig, Mo.
Robert Allen Stark, 40, of Shenandoah, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Dean Whipple this afternoon to the charges contained in a Sept. 26, 2006, federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Stark admitted that he stole $2,447 from U.S. Bank, 109 S. Third St., Tarkio, on Aug. 21, 2006. Stark entered U.S. Bank at approximately 10:15 a.m. and placed a handwritten demand note on the counter. The teller provided all of the cash from her teller drawer, which Stark placed in his shirt before leaving the bank on foot.
Stark also admitted that he stole $3,299 from Citizens Bank and Trust, 150 S. Main St., Craig, on Sept. 20, 2006. Stark entered Citizens Bank and Trust at approximately 10:45 a.m. and approached a teller window. He unfolded a small note, which read, “THIS IS A ROBBERY DO NOT ALARM ANYBODY QUICKLY EMPTY YOUR DRAWER AND I WILL NOT HURT YOU.” The teller handed Stark all the cash in her teller drawer and he left the bank. Stark was arrested during a traffic stop near Tarkio a few minutes later.
Under federal statutes, Stark could be subject to a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Michael Warner. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Atchison County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Holt County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Tarkio, Mo., Police Department.