Liberty Man Charged with Attempted Bank Robbery After Shooting, High-Speed Chase

KANSAS CITY, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Liberty, Missouri man was charged in federal court today with attempted bank robbery after being shot by an employee at a Trimble, Missouri bank and leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase.

Michael Stephen Oliva, 34, of Liberty, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri. Oliva, who has not yet had a court appearance, remains hospitalized and in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, Oliva entered First Security Bank at 202 U.S. Hwy. 169 in Trimble at about 1:25 p.m. Friday, March 1, 2013. Oliva allegedly pulled on a black mask, pointed what appeared to be a handgun (but was later found to be a realistic plastic replica) at a bank employee, and ordered her to give him the money in her teller drawer. The employee instead dropped to the floor behind the teller stations and began crawling toward another bank employee, shouting for help. As she was crawling, the affidavit says, she saw Oliva lean over the teller station and point his handgun at her. She grabbed a plastic trash can and tossed it over the teller counter toward Oliva; however, Oliva had moved around the end of the teller stations and was directly behind her.

The second bank employee, who was in an office, heard the shouts for help. He saw Oliva pointing a handgun at the first bank employee, the affidavit says, and retrieved a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver. He fired two rounds at Oliva. The first shot struck Oliva in the jaw, according to the affidavit, and he turned and started toward the bank’s front doors. No money was taken during the attempted robbery.

After Oliva left the bank, the affidavit says, the first employee got up from the floor and saw him staggering behind a nearby building. She then saw a silver car drive very fast on Hwy. 169 past the bank, and she called 9-1-1. Oliva had left a sizable trail of blood for about 150-200 feet that led to a handicapped parking space in the nearby building’s parking lot.

According to the affidavit, Trimble Police officers located Oliva’s Dodge Stratus and began pursuing him at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. Officers deployed spike strips and the vehicle stopped. When officers approached the car, Oliva got out of the vehicle and asked, “You guys going to let me die?” Officers noted that Oliva appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the jaw or chin, and there was a large amount of blood on Oliva and in his vehicle.

Oliva was placed under arrest and transported to an emergency room for medical treatment.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Trimble, Missouri Police Department; the Clinton County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department; and the FBI.