Home Kansas City Press Releases 2009 Indictment: Bank Robber Was Federal Escapee
Info
This is archived material from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website. It may contain outdated information and links may no longer function.

Indictment: Bank Robber Was Federal Escapee

U.S. Attorney’s Office January 21, 2009
  • District of Kansas (316) 269-6481

TOPEKA, KS—Daniel Lee Dukewits, 32, and Michael David Walters, 32, Topeka, Kan., are charged in a superseding indictment with one count of attempted bank robbery and one count of bank robbery and assault. Additionally, Dukewits is charged with escaping from federal custody.

According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2008, Dukewits turned up missing from the Grossman Center, a federal halfway house in Leavenworth, Kan., where he was serving part of an 88-month sentence on a 2002 bank robbery conviction. Dukewits had been allowed to leave the halfway house the previous day to go to Topeka to look for a job. He had not returned at the end of the day.

While looking for Dukewits, FBI agents became aware of an attempted bank robbery and a bank robbery that occurred while Dukewits was away from the halfway house. On Sept. 15, 2008, a man in a hat and striped polo shirt entered the Kaw Valley Bank and Trust at 4848 S.W. 21st in Topeka and demanded money. When a teller said she had no money in her drawer, the robber became flustered and ran away.

On the same day, a robber wearing clothing of the same description entered the UMB Bank at 2014 N. Topeka Blvd and demanded money. He was carrying what appeared to be a bomb made from a cellular phone and wires leading to a small box.

In both cases, investigators obtained evidence that Dukewits was the robber. On Oct. 1, 2008, Dukewits was charged with the robberies in a sealed indictment. On Oct. 8, 2008, U.S. Marshals arrested him in Bowling Green, Ky.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:

- Escape from custody: A maximum penalty of 5 years and a fine up to $250,000.
- Attempted bank robbery: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000.
- Bank robbery and assault: A maximum penalty of 25 years and a fine up to $250,000.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A federal grand jury meeting in Topeka, Kan., also returned the following indictment:

Armondo Espinoza-Cerda, 46, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of a felony and deported. He was found Jan. 7, 2009, in Sedgwick County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

As in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

KANSAS CITY, MO— John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Gladstone, Mo., insurance agent pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a $12.6 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved 25 residential properties in Lee’s Summit and Raymore, Mo.

Ronald E. Brown, Jr., 39, of Gladstone, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan this morning to the charge contained in an Oct. 29, 2008, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Brown admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to defraud mortgage lenders from June 2005 to May 2007. Brown was among more than a dozen conspirators who were involved in buying and selling new homes in the Raintree and Belmont Farms subdivisions in Lee’s Summit and the Eagle Glen subdivision in Raymore. Buyers purchased the homes at inflated prices, obtainin! g mortgage loans by providing false information to mortgage lenders, then keeping the extra proceeds. Buyers created shell companies for the purpose of receiving those kickbacks from the builder, with kickbacks ranging from $60,000 to $125,000 on each house.

Brown, a self-employed insurance agent doing business as The Brown Insurance Agency in Kansas City, Kan., obtained insurance for the properties that were purchased. After purchasing two false Social Security numbers for $10,000, Brown used the false Social Security number to purchase three properties in Lee’s Summit. In each case, Brown made material misrepresentations upon which the lenders relied in making the mortgage loans, which totaled $1,339,700. From the purchase of these properties, unbeknownst to the lenders, Brown received a total of $279,426.

In total during the course of the conspiracy, mortgage lenders approved 25 loans totaling $12,616,990. From that total, buyers received approximately $2,343,337 without the lenders’ knowledge.

Under federal statutes, Brown is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. 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 Linda Parker Marshall. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

This content has been reproduced from its original source.