KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A man who said he was facing the prospect of being homeless has pleaded guilty to robbing a bank in Overland Park, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Thomas Crowl, 64, who had been living at the VA Hospital in Leavenworth, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on May 22, 2012, he robbed the Metcalf Bank at 10300 Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kan.

Wearing an Hawaiian shirt, khaki pants, a black hat and sunglasses, Crowl entered the bank and approached a teller. He gave the teller a note demanding money and stating there was a bomb in a box that he placed on the counter. After the teller gave him money, he left the bank with the money and the box. Crowl later told investigators there was no bomb in the box.

Crowl was arrested later that day at the La Quinta Inn Hotel at 10610 Marty Street in Overland Park. Crowl told investigators had been released from prison in June 2011 after serving a sentence for bank robbery. He lived for a while in a halfway house and then moved to the VA Hospital. He said he recently had been told he could no longer stay at the VA Hospital. He said he had nowhere else to live.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 16. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

 

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