NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov../index.html

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. JOSEPH MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO

TWO BANK ROBBERIES

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a St. Joseph, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to two bank robberies.

            Michael Sandgren, 44, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith this morning to the charge contained in a Sept. 25, 2009, federal indictment.

            Sandgren pleaded guilty to two bank robberies – one in which he used a note, and the second in which he used a firearm – and to one count of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

            On July 9, 2009, Sandgren stole $2,510 from Midwest Federal Savings Bank, 1901 Frederick Ave., in St. Joseph. Sandgren admitted that he placed a handwritten demand note on a teller’s counter, then fled from the bank after receiving the money.

            On Aug. 4, 2009, Sandgren, armed with a handgun, stole $3,355 from Goppert Financial Bank, 710 Oak St., in Lathrop, Mo. Sandgren admitted that he approached a bank teller sitting at a desk, placed his pistol on the desk, and demanded money. When the teller placed money from her cash drawer on the desk, Sandgren grabbed the money and fled from the bank.

            Under federal statutes, Sandgren is subject to a sentence of up to 45 years in federal prison without parole for the two bank robberies, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of seven years for using a firearm, plus a fine up to $750,000. 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Clinton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov../index.html