|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
March 31 , 2009
FEDERAL CHARGES FILED IN BANK ROBBERY THAT LEFT BYSTANDER WOUNDED
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Federal charges have been filed in a robbery at the Credit Union of Johnson County in Lenexa, Kan., that left a bystander wounded by gunfire, Acting U.S. Attorney Marietta Parker said today.
Nicholas E. Kamphaus, 26, Lenexa, Kan., is charged with one count of armed bank robbery.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., at about 9 a.m. March 28, 2009, Kamphaus entered the Credit Union of Johnson County at 13001 W. 95th Street in Lenexa, Kan. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, with a blue bandana covering his face. He was carrying a black backpack and holding a silver-colored handgun.Kamphaus pointed the gun at a clerk, vaulted the counter next to her teller station and demanded money. He took money from two teller stations and left the bank.
After Kamphaus left, a customer attempted to enter the credit union. An employee explained a robbery had taken place and the lobby was closed. The customer said he had seen the robber and he was going to follow him.
Shortly after that, Lenexa police responded to a report of shots fired near West 94th and Haskins Street in Lenexa, which is less than half a mile from the credit union. They found a man in a grey minivan who had been shot multiple times. The victim told police he believed the man who shot him was the bank robber. He said the man was driving a sport utility vehicle with a Colorado license plate. Police recovered three 9 mm spent shell casings at the scene of the shooting.
On March 29, police received information from a witness who believed Kamphaus was the robber and had attempted to hide a white Isuzu Rodeo bearing a Colorado license plate when he parked it at a house a few blocks from the credit union in Lenexa.
On the evening of March 29, FBI agents went to a residence in Kansas City, Kan., where they arrested Kamphaus. They recovered six spent 9 mm shell casings from the hood and windshield area of a white Isuzu Rodeo.
On March 30, investigators searched the Isuzu Rodo and they recovered a black backpack with a bundle of cash and a blue bandana.
If convicted on the armed bank robbery charge, Kamphaus faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. An initial appearance is scheduled for Kamphaus in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., at 2 p.m. today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lenexa Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Johnson County District Attorney’s office worked on the case Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask is prosecuting. The investigation is ongoing.
As in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The complaint filed merely contains allegations of criminal conduct.
##