Category: Kansas City Missouri

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.

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.

Car chase from Missouri ends in crash in Fairfax district of KCK

Some Fairfax industrial district roads were closed after a Kansas City, Mo., police chase ended in an accident with a semi at 7th and Sunshine Road, Kansas City, Kan.

According to a Kansas City, Mo., police spokeswoman, it all started when officers were notified of a suspicious car and occupant call in the 5800 block of Kenwood in Kansas City, Mo., at 10:49 a.m. today.

Officers saw four suspects jump into a vehicle that matched the description of the suspicious car, the spokeswoman stated.

Officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the suspects shot at the police officers, disabling an officer’s vehicle, according to the spokeswoman. The officers were not injured.

The suspects fled, and other Kansas City, Mo., officers then gave chase, the spokeswoman stated.

The fleeing suspects crossed the state line on I-70 and entered Kansas, and shortly afterward the suspects were in an accident with a semi at 7th and Sunshine Road in the Fairfax district of Kansas City, Kan., according to the spokeswoman.

All suspects sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were treated, the spokeswoman stated. No officers were injured.