February 17, 2015

Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Two Bank Robberies

KANSAS CITY, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Kan., man who was still on supervised release for a 2009 bank robbery conviction pleaded guilty in federal court today to robbing two more banks.

Antonio P. Gaitan, 36, of Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to one count of bank robbery in an indictment returned in the Western District of Missouri and to a second count of bank robbery in an indictment returned in the District of Kansas.

By pleading guilty today, Gaitan admitted that he stole $4,114 from Country Club Bank, 1 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo., on April 2, 2014. Gaitan also admitted that he stole $5,130 from Truity Credit Union in Lawrence, Kan., on April 5, 2014.

Gaitan was identified from surveillance photos from the Country Club Bank robbery. Investigators learned that Gaitan was traveling to Nebraska, and he was arrested by authorities in that state.

Gaitan recently had escaped from custody at Heartland Center for Behavioral Change after being sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release for a 2009 bank robbery. His supervised release was revoked by the court.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Gaitan will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole for the bank robberies, plus a consecutive revocation sentence of 24 to 31 months for violating his supervised release. Gaitan must pay $9,244 in restitution.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Leena Ramana. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Lawrence, Kan., Police Department and the Omaha, Neb., Police Department.