Kansas City Man Sentenced to Prison for Bank Robberies, Including One Thwarted by FBI

KANSAS CITY, KS—Kenneth Rayford, 59, Kansas City, Mo., has been sentenced to 14 years for three bank robberies, including one that was prevented by FBI agents who locked the bank doors to keep the robbers out, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Rayford pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery, one count of attempted bank robbery, and one count of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In his plea, Rayford admitted that on Dec. 28, 2007, he robbed the Hillcrest Bank at 6927 North Oak Traffickway in Gladstone, Mo., and on March 17, 2008, he robbed the Enterprise Bank and Trust at 4717 Grand Avenue in Kansas City, Mo.

On Oct. 22, 2009, Rayford and two other men were under surveillance by the FBI when they attempted to rob Interstate Federal Savings Bank at 1919 N. 78th in Kansas City, Kan. As Rayford and another man approached the bank wearing masks, two agents inside the bank locked the bank doors to keep them out. The three men were arrested as they attempted to leave the bank parking lot.

Also indicted in the case are Paul G. Rayford, who was sentenced to 144 months, and Claude White, who is set for sentencing Dec. 20, 2010.

Grissom commended the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Independence Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.