Aug. 17 , 2006

 

FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS MAN WHO SAID
HE FOUND MONEY FROM BANK ROBBERY

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A bag full of cash fell from a speeding car, Carl Dean Smith told a federal jury, and that was how he came to possess money stolen during a bank robbery.

After three days of trial, the jury Thursday found Smith guilty of one count of bank robbery. Smith, 35, Olathe, Kan., was tried before U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Vratil.

“Evidence presented at trial showed that Mr. Smith, who had been facing eviction from his apartment, spent approximately $6,000 the same day he was alleged to have robbed the First National Bank of Louisburg in Stilwell, Kan.,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. “That included making his overdue rent payments.”

The bank at 7640 199th Street in Stilwell was robbed Sept. 20, 2005, by a man wearing a mask. A surveillance tape of the robbery showed the robber possessed a firearm. Investigators served a search warrant at Smith’s residence three days after the robbery and found a marked bill from the bank.

Smith faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing is pending. Melgren commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Christensen, who prosecuted the case.

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