NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

JOHN F. WOOD

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

DECEMBER 19, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDEPENDENCE MAN PLEADS GUILTY

TO NORTHLAND BANK ROBBERY

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to robbing a Kansas City-North bank.

             Robert Maynard Surrey, 55, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner this morning to the charge contained in a federal indictment.

             By pleading guilty today, Surrey admitted that he stole $8,827 from the Bank Midwest branch located inside the Wal-Mart store at 8551 N. Boardwalk Ave., Kansas City, Mo.

             Surrey entered the bank at approximately 2:50 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2007, and handed a teller a note demanding money from her teller drawer. When she handed the money to Surrey, he turned and walked away. A surveillance camera captured him entering a silver-colored pick-up truck and leaving the parking lot. Two days later, security personnel at Harrah’s Casino identified Surrey, and he was arrested.

             Surrey also admitted that he used a similar demand note to steal $7,216 from the UMB branch located inside the Hen House Market in Merriam, Kan., on Dec. 5, 2006.

            Under federal statutes, Surrey could be subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Becker. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.