Abilene Man Sentenced to 12+ Years for Robberies in Overland Park, Topeka, and Lawrence

KANSAS CITY, KS—Larry Leonard Rice, 61, Abilene, Kansas, has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for robbing businesses in Overland Park, Topeka, and Lawrence, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Rice pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on May 29, 2010, he robbed the Bank of the West located in the Hy-Vee Grocery Store at 8900 West 135th Street in Overland Park, Kan. He entered the bank, approached a teller and said, “This is how it is going to go. I want all the money.” He lifted up his shirt and showed the teller what appeared to be the butt of a gun in his waistband. In his plea, he said that in fact he had a piece of cardboard in his waistband, not a gun.

On May 30, 2010, Rice turned himself into the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and said he was responsible for the Bank of the West robbery.

Rice also pleaded guilty to a May 25, 2010, robbery at the Michael’s Arts and Craft store at 2040 Wanamaker Road in Topeka, Kan., and the May 19, 2010, robbery at Maurice’s clothing store at 3226 Iowa in Lawrence, Kan.

Grissom commended the Lawrence Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Smith for their work on the case.