Lee’s Summit man charged in October bank robbery

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Lee’s Summit man was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for robbing an Independence bank in October.

According to federal court documents, 54-year-old James K. Kerr was charged with one count of bank robbery in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri.

The federal indictment alleged that on October 21, 2024, Kerr robbed Hawthorn Bank on E. 39th Street in Independence.

Court documents show Kerr was wearing a black hoodie over his head, a hooded sweatshirt with the hood down, a winter hat, sunglasses, a medical mask and gloves when he walked into the bank just before 10:45 a.m. that morning.

When Kerr walked into an employee-only area, the federal affidavit said he pulled a black handgun from the pocket of his sweatshirt and held it in the air.

READ MORE: FBI investigates Independence bank robbery

The man then started yelling at the staff and hitting the counter. He obtained money from all three victim locations while holding the gun, then left the bank on a motorcycle parked nearby.

A customer who was in the bank’s driveway at the time of the robbery got out of his vehicle and pushed Kerr off the motorcycle. Kerr then threatened the customer with a gun, the affidavit said, and left the scene. Another witness nearby filmed the incident.

Bank employees told FBI investigators that they recognized Kerr as a customer of the bank, and surveillance outside his home led investigators to see him leaving the house on his motorcycle. He was arrested at a gas station on October 22 and investigators found an air pistol that matched what was seen during the bank robbery.

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