April 2, 2015

Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Polo Bank Robbery

KANSAS CITY, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lublin, Wisconsin man pleaded guilty in federal court today to robbing a Polo, Mo., bank.

Oran Woodfin, 30, of Lublin, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to bank robbery.

By pleading guilty today, Woodfin admitted that he stole $7,867 from Bank Northwest, 305 Main St., Polo, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

According to court documents, Woodfin entered the bank, approached a bank teller and ordered her, “Give me your money.” He kept his left hand inside his jacket as though he had a weapon. The teller pleaded with him, “Don’t shoot me,” and placed the cash from her teller drawer on the counter. Woodfin picked up the money and walked out of the bank.

Bank surveillance photos indicated the robber was driving a red Dodge extended cab pickup truck with a black canvas tonto cover in the bed of the truck. A witness to the robbery observed the truck had a broken driver’s side taillight cover although the bulb was still functioning. Photographs of the robber and the pickup truck were disseminated to the media.

On the same day as the robbery, Woodfin checked into the Super 8 Motel in Richmond, Mo. Employees at the motel saw the surveillance photos on a television newscast, thought that Woodfin and his vehicle matched the descriptions from the bank robbery and the photos, and notified the police department.

Richmond police officers arrested Woodfin without incident outside his motel room. Officers executed a search warrant at the motel room and seized $7,145, a new computer, clothes and a container of alcohol. The pickup truck had been reported as stolen out of Clark County, Wisconsin. Woodfin had a warrant for his arrest out of Wisconsin for a probation and parole violation.

Under federal statutes, Woodfin is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Caldwell County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Polo, Mo., Police Department, the Richmond, Mo., Police Department, the Ray County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.