Former Washburn Football Player Indicted on Bank Robbery Charges

WICHITA, KS—A grand jury in Wichita has returned an indictment charging a former Washburn football player with bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

The indictment charges Vershon D. Moore, 21, Topeka, and Traci L. Bacon, 22, Topeka, with one count of bank robbery. In addition, Moore is charged with one count of brandishing a handgun during the robbery.

Moore and Bacon initially were charged in a criminal complaint filed Aug. 10 in U.S. District Court in Topeka. The complaint alleged that on Aug. 9 two tellers who worked for Envista Credit Union, 2015 Southwest 10th Street in Topeka, came out of the credit union carrying containers of cash to refill the credit union’s automatic teller machine. Moore, wearing a black hood and mesh mask and driving a white sports utility vehicle, pulled up to the tellers and demanded the money.

As he drove away, one of the tellers got the license plate of the car. Police tracked the car to Moore, who borrowed it from a girlfriend. Investigators also learned that Bacon, who worked at the bank, had provided Moore with information about how the cash was handled when the ATM was being refilled.

Upon conviction, the bank robbery charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The firearms charge carries a penalty of not less than seven years and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000.

The Topeka Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A grand jury meeting in Wichita, Kan., also returned the following indictments:

Willie J. Jackson, 27, Wichita, is charged with a robbery Aug. 11, 2011, at Sunflower Bank, 2073 N. Webb in Wichita.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Wichita Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

Matthew L. Church, 28, who is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail, is charged with a July 21, 2011, robbery at Papa Murphy’s, 4813 E. Central in Wichita.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Wichita Police investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Warner is prosecuting.

Derrick D. McDonald, 38, Tulsa, Okla., and Roland D. Ross, 23, Tulsa, Okla., are charged with a robbery July 21, 2011, at CBW Bank, 109 E. Main, in Weir, Kan.

If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

Hugh Allen Barker, 54, Harper, Kan., is charged with failing to notify federal and state environmental authorities, as required by federal law, that he was demolishing a building at 906 Central in Harper, Kan.

Barker was hired by the city of Harper to demolish the Balmer Fund building, which had been condemned. Barker failed to provide either the EPA or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment the required notice of demolition.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The EPA investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

Amanda L. Casebier, 33, La Crosse, Kan., is charged with misappropriation of U.S. Postal Service funds. The indictment alleges the crime occurred from March to June 2011 while she was a postal contract employee at the Community Post Office in Liebenthal, which is in Rush County, Kan.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Postal Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

Jackie M. Mitchell, 55, McCune, Kan., is charged with possession of child pornography. The crime is alleged to have occurred July 9, 2009, in Crawford County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Jason Dean Adams, 36, Augusta, is charged with failing to register as a sex offender as required by federal law. The indictment alleges that he was in Butler County, Kan. from July 31, 2010, to Aug. 2, 2011, without registering. He had been convicted in Louisiana on a charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshal Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Jose Octavio Bribiescaz-Vieyra, 38, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. The crime is alleged to have occurred July 1, 2011, in Liberal, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. The Liberal Police Department and Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Josue German Solis-Pena, 30, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found July 29, 2011, in Hutchinson, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Arnulfo Perez-Hernandez, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of a felony and deported. He was found Aug. 1, 2011, in Wichita, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Mark R. Wintholz, 44, Great Bend, Kan., and Tiffinie D. Moore, 26, Great Bend, Kan., are charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred May 2, 2011, in Barton County, Kan.

If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Barton County Sheriff’s Office investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.

Juan Solorio Gomez, 31, is charged in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of money laundering, and two counts of traveling in interstate commerce in furtherance of drug trafficking, The crimes are alleged to have occurred in 2009 in Sedgwick County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $8 million on the methamphetamine charge, a maximum penalty of 20 years and fine up to $250,000 on the money laundering count, and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the charges of traveling in interstate commerce. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. The U.S. Attorney’s office is prosecuting.

Jeffrey D. Williams, 27, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Dec. 18, 2010, in Reno County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting.

Transisto S. Espinoza, 38, Newton, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Aug. 1, 2011, in Harvey County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.