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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Oct. 24, 2007
EMPLOYEE RECOGNIZED ROBBER WHEN HE WALKED IN THE BANK, FEDERAL CHARGES SAY
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Thomas G. Crowl, 59, Merriam, Kan., was charged Wednesday with robbing an Overland Park bank.
Crowl is charged with an Oct. 23, 2007, robbery at Bank of the West, 9400 Antioch Road in Overland Park, Kan.
“According to the complaint, a bank employee immediately recognized Mr. Crowl from two previous bank robberies,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. One of the robberies had been in February at Bank of the West. The other had occurred at Bank of America about a week before the Oct. 23 robbery.
A complaint and affidavit filed in federal court Wednesday says that Crowl entered the bank at about 12:45 p.m. Oct. 23. He put a Velcro bag on the counter with a note saying he had a bomb and he needed money. “I want it all,” he told a bank teller.
Crowl was driving a 1994 blue Plymouth Voyager when Overland Park Police stopped him shortly after the robbery.
He is scheduled for an initial appearance on the charges at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Overland Park Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton is prosecuting.
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