Monday, April 04, 2016

Anderson man sentenced for bank robbery

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

An Anderson, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for robbing the Arvest Bank in Anderson.

Perry D. Abercrombie, 59, of Anderson, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to two years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Abercrombie to pay $699 in restitution.

On Aug. 3, 2015, Abercrombie pleaded guilty to robbing Arvest Bank, 607 N. Highway 71, Anderson, on May 18, 2015.

According to court documents, Abercrombie passed a handwritten note to a bank teller, indicating that he was robbing the bank and had a weapon. The teller retrieved $2,210 from her drawer and placed the money on the counter. Abercrombie took the money and the note and put them in his pocket, then left the bank.

A Missouri Highway Patrol trooper notified deputies from the McDonald County Sheriff’s Department that he had seen a pickup in the vicinity of the bank earlier that day. The trooper thought the pickup was suspicious and requested registration information for the vehicle to ensure there were no alerts for the driver or the vehicle. Deputies identified Abercrombie as the vehicle’s owner and retrieved his information, including a photograph. They showed Abercrombie’s driver’s license photo to bank employees, who said he resembled the man who had robbed the bank.

After identifying Abercrombie as a suspect in the bank robbery, a deputy drove to Abercrombie’s residence. After a short time, Abercrombie arrived at the residence. He was questioned by law enforcement officers and eventually admitted that he robbed the bank. He showed officers a cash box in his bedroom where he had put the money stolen from the bank.

Abercrombie also admitted that he had been watching several local financial institutions to determine which bank had the most lax security. He indicated he took these additional steps to ensure he successfully robbed the Arvest Bank, as well as carry out future bank robberies. Investigators were able to confirm Abercrombie’s information about “casing” additional banks after obtaining bank surveillance videos showing Abercrombie in his vehicle in the parking lot of those businesses.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

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