KC Man Sentenced for Armed Bank Robbery

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for an armed bank robbery he committed while on parole for a state murder conviction.

Gregory Burgin, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 14 years in federal prison without parole.

On July 13, 2017, Burgin pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Burgin admitted that he stole more than $8,000 at gunpoint from Bank Midwest, 6429 Brookside Blvd., Kansas City, Mo., on March 12, 2016.

Burgin and another man were both armed with handguns, which were pointed at the tellers and customers, when they entered the bank. One of them grabbed a customer from behind and they ordered another employee and a customer to the ground. The teller placed the money in a duffle bag and they fled from the bank.

Kansas City police officers saw a vehicle parked in Burgin’s driveway about half an hour later that matched the description of the get-away car. Inside Burgin’s residence, officers found a Crown Royal bag in the rafters that contained $8,155, as well as firearms (a Kel-Tec 9mm pistol laying on the bed and a Bersa .380-caliber pistol hidden in Burgin’s mattress) and clothing items (a white hard hat and a construction vest) matching the description of what the bank robbers were wearing.

Burgin was found guilty at trial in Jackson County Circuit Court of murder in the second degree on Oct. 31, 1980, after fatally shooting a woman. Burgin was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He was released on parole in November 2004, but his parole was revoked in May 2007. He was released on parole again in May 2009, but a parole violation warrant was issued on March 15, 2016.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison D. Dunning. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.