Oct. 8, 2008

BANK ROBBERY CONVICTION NOT THE DEFENDANT’S FIRST

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Kevin Tommie Hall, 48, has been convicted on charges of robbing a bank in Leavenworth, Kan., the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas announced Wednesday.

At the end of a 5-day jury trial in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., Hall was convicted on one count of armed bank robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a robbery, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.

Evidence presented at trial showed that on Nov. 7, 2006, Hall used a shotgun to rob the Mid-American Bank and Trust Company at 401 Delaware in Leavenworth, Kan. About 15 minutes after the robbery, police arrested Hall following a high speed chase in which they used stop sticks to disable his vehicle as it entered Wyandotte County.

Prior to that time, Hall had been convicted in 1984 on a charge of bank robbery, and in 1992 on charges of armed bank robbery and carrying a firearm in connection with a crime of violence. As a result, he was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

James L. Morrison, Hall’s co-defendant in the current case, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 13, 2009. Hall faces a penalty of not less than 30 years and not more than life on the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Hare, who prosecuted the case, commended the following agencies for their work on the case: the Leavenworth Police Department, the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Basehor Police Department, the Johnson County Crime Lab, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.