Missouri man sentenced for bank robbery in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri man was sentenced to 100 months in prison for bank robbery. 

A federal jury had convicted Richard Ruston, 54, of Independence, Missouri, for robbing a bank in Shawnee, Kansas, in July 2022.

According to court documents, Ruston entered First Interstate Bank on Shawnee Mission Parkway wearing a red bandana covering his face and neck, a dark bandana covering the top of his head, a long-sleeve shirt with a snake-skin pattern, sunglasses, and gloves. He approached a bank teller, lifted his shirt, displayed a firearm in his waistband, and said to her, “Put the money on the counter, do it now, do it now.”  Fearing for her safety, the teller complied with the demand. Ruston took the money and fled the scene.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Shawnee, Kansas Police Department, with valuable assistance from the Merriam, Kansas Police Department, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, and Liberty, Missouri Police Department, investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug prosecuted the case.

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