Missouri Resident Found Guilty of Robbing Great Western Bank Branch in Iowa

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA—On October 18, 2013, Nathan Wayne Smith, a 47 year-old resident of Lexington, Missouri, was found guilty in federal court of robbing the Great Western Bank of Hamburg, Iowa, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. The trial was presided over by United States District Court Chief Judge James E. Gritzner. Sentencing has been set for January 29, 2014. Bank robbery carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and restitution.

The evidence produced at trial showed that Smith traveled from his home in Lexington, Missouri, to Hamburg, Iowa, arriving at the Great Western Bank around 9:30 a.m. on June 11, 2012. Smith approached a teller in the bank, placed a plastic bag on the counter in front of the teller, and told the teller to fill the bag with money. After obtaining the money from the teller, Smith ran from the bank.

Smith was identified as the party responsible after he was stopped by the Buckner, Missouri Police Department later in the day on June 11, 2012. Buckner, Missouri, is approximately 150 miles south and east of Hamburg, Iowa.

The investigation was conducted by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office; the Buckner, Missouri, Police Department; the Lexington, Missouri, Police Department; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.