NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

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

www.usdoj.gov../index.html

APRIL 9, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KC MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO BANK ROBBERIES

ROBBED THE SAME BANK TWICE,

IN THE SAME MONTH

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to robbing the same bank twice in the same month.

            Isaac O. Okesanya, 21, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith this morning to two counts of bank robbery.

            Okesanya admitted that he stole $10,047 from Bank of America, 4720 Jefferson Street in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 1, 2009. Okesanya also admitted that he stole $14,316 from the same bank on Dec. 21, 2009.

            According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Okesanya entered the bank at 9:41 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2009, and loudly ordered everyone in the bank to get onto the floor. Okesanya was holding a plastic bag in his left hand and a black-handled object that appeared to be a weapon in his right hand, though it was largely covered by a paper sack. Okesanya gave the plastic bag to a teller and demanded money, then ordered two more tellers to put money from their teller drawers in the bag as well.

            Okesanya left the bank on foot and was spotted by Kansas City police officers soon afterward. After a short foot chase, he was taken into custody. At the time of his arrest, Okesanya was in possession of a plastic bag filled with money and a paper sack containing a black Nerf toy gun.

            Under federal statutes, Okesanya is subject to a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. 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 Christina Tabor. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

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