Three defendants were charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court Aug. 28 for robbing a Breckenridge bank.
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Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that three defendants were charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court Aug. 28 for robbing a Breckenridge bank.
Kevin Edward Schmidt, 20, his wife, Francesca Nicole Schmidt, 19, and Allison Ren’e Hardin, 18, all of Cameron, were charged with robbing $1,942 from The Hamilton Bank, Breckenridge Branch on Aug. 27, 2003, in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Kevin and Francesca Schmidt entered the bank at 190 South 7th in Breckenridge, at about 1 p.m. on Aug. 27, with their faces covered. Francesca Schmidt allegedly used duct tape to tape the 65-year-old bank teller to a chair, wrapping tape around her arms, legs, and waist then taping her mouth, while Kevin Schmidt looked through drawers and file cabinets looking for money. Kevin Schmidt allegedly threatened the teller with a pellet gun, shaped like a pistol, that he had purchased from the Wal-Mart in Cameron the day before the robbery.
According to the affidavit, the defendants left the bank in a 2002 Nissan Extera – allegedly stolen after the Schmidts took it for a test drive from a St. Joseph., auto dealer the previous weekend – driven by Hardin. Hardin had allegedly been offered $200 to drive the Schmidts to and from the bank and wait in the vehicle while they robbed the bank.
Cameron police officers stopped the vehicle shortly after the robbery and arrested the defendants. When officers searched the vehicle, they found the money allegedly stolen from the bank.
Graves cautioned that the charge contained in the complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Michael Warner. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cameron Police Department, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.