Month: December 2015

Kansas City, Mo., man sentenced to 15 years for armed robbery in Overland Park

A Kansas City, Mo., man who pointed a gun in the face of a bank employee during a robbery in Overland Park was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Landein Craddock, 34, Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to one count of armed bank robbery.

In his plea, he admitted that on Jan. 20, 2015, he displayed a revolver when he and another man robbed the Bank of the West at 9400 Antioch in Overland Park, Kan.

Both robbers wore masks and gloves. Craddock shouted at employees and customers to get on the ground and he pointed a gun in the face of one of the bank employees, while the other man jumped the counter and collected money from tellers.

Shortly after the robbery, police spotted Craddock and the other man in a black Honda and pursued them until the driver crashed his car in Kansas City, Mo. Craddock fled on foot and was arrested about a block from the scene of the accident.

Co-defendant Jerome Davis, 32, Kansas City, Mo., is awaiting sentencing.

Grissom commended the Overland Park Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask.

Weather warms up a little

weather graphic
The weather is starting to warm up for the rest of the week. Today’s forecast is partly sunny with a high near 42, according to the National Weather Service.

After a chance for a few snow flurries this morning to the north of the metropolitan area, no hazardous weather is expected, according to the weather service.

The next chance for precipitation will be Sunday in the form of rain, according to the weather service.

Today will be another windy day, with a northwest wind of 9 to 15 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear with a low of 26, according to the weather service. The west northwest wind will be 3 to 6 mph.

Friday, it will be sunny with a high near 53, the weather service said. A light south wind will be increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning.

Friday night, it will be mostly clear with a low of 36, according to the weather service.

Saturday, expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 52, the weather service said. Saturday night will be mostly cloudy with a low of 35.

Sunday’s forecast is partly sunny with a high near 47, according to the weather service. Sunday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 33, the weather service said.

Monday, the forecast is mostly sunny skies with a high near 51, according to the weather service.

Man pleads guilty to laundering drug money

A Mexican man was sentenced Tuesday to 5.8 years in federal prison for laundering more than $4.7 million in drug funds through his bank accounts in Kansas and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Franz Wiebe Rempel, 44, Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Wichita to one count of money laundering. In his plea, he admitted that from 2009 through July 30, 2013, he laundered drug funds through bank accounts at the Bank of America in Wichita, as well as accounts at Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase.

In his plea, he admitted he provided his bank account numbers so that another conspirator could distribute the information to others. Rempel had an understanding with the conspirator that third parties would deposit cash into his bank accounts.

The deposits would be less than $10,000 in an attempt to avoid federal currency reporting requirements. Once Rempel received the funds, he would transfer or move the money through the U.S. financial system at the other conspirator’s direction.

Rempel crossed the border from his home in Mexico almost on a weekly basis in order to move funds. Ultimately, most of the money wound up in the other conspirator’s hands.

Rempel’s accounts received funds deposited from Kansas City, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; Oklahoma City; Des Moines; Amarillo, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Knoxville, Tenn., Nashville, Tenn., Memphis, Tenn.; Charlotte, N.C., Atlanta, Ga., and Albuquerque, N.M.

Rempel did not know the identities of the people making the deposits but he knew the funds were being transferred for the purpose of paying for drugs, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Grissom commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett for their work on the case.