JULY 12, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

MISSISSIPPI MAN SENTENCED FOR ARMED BANK ROBBERY

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Rolling Fork, Miss., man was sentenced in federal court today for robbing Blue Ridge Bank and Trust Company.

Robert L. Voss, 21, of Rolling Fork, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan this morning to seven years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Voss to pay $8,772 in restitution.

On March 28, 2006, Voss pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and the use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

In separate but related cases, Johnny R. Doss, 25, and Kiesha E. Buie, 20, both of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty on Feb. 15, 2006, to their roles in the armed bank robbery and await sentencing. All three defendants were originally charged together in a federal criminal complaint filed on Jan. 23, 2006. Voss was indicted on Feb. 8, 2006, while Doss and Buie were charged by information.

Voss admitted that he stole $8,772 from Blue Ridge Bank and Trust Company, 4315 Sterling Rd. in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 4, 2006. Voss, armed with a pump-action shotgun, Doss and Buie forced their way into the bank immediately after two bank employees arrived for work in the morning. The tellers told the robbers that they couldn't open the safe, and led them to their teller drawers. While one of the clerks bent over to attempt to open a small safe where their teller drawers were located, she was struck in the head. The robbers ordered the tellers to lie on the floor as they left the bank, stealing one of the tellers' cars, which was later abandoned in Raytown, Mo.

On Jan. 5, 2006, after surveillance photographs had been broadcast by local media, an anonymous tip was received by Greater Kansas City Crimestoppers. Law enforcement officers investigated that tip, which led to the arrests.

Under federal statutes, Doss and Buie each could be subject to a sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Michael Warner. They were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.