A Springfield man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison without parole by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on June 23, 2023.
Richard Lavern Neil Kuder, 26, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips and ordered to pay $7,215 in restitution, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Missouri.
On July 24, 2020, Kuder pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and admitted to stealing $7,215 on June 11, 2020 from the Central Bank of the Ozarks located at 2501 N. Kansas Expy. in Springfield.
“Very sorry to do this but I need all of the money out of cash register…This is a robbery,” a note that Kuder handed to the teller read.
The teller then handed him the cash and Kuder left the bank. Kuder was seen running through the bank’s parking lot, according to the release. Surveillance video and photos captured Kuder’s approach to the bank and his getaway.
After tracking Kuder to his apartment complex and contacting him, police arrested Kuder. The manager of the apartment complex where Kuder lived said Kuder paid $1,000 for past due rent and his next rental payment on the day of the robbery.
Kuder has 13 prior misdemeanor convictions and two felony convictions, including two previous robbery convictions, according to the release.
“These crimes of violence have included resisting and striking a law enforcement officer, striking and strangling an unknown man on a local bus and then striking his daughter when she tried to assist her father, and using a firearm to threaten store security and another person,” the release reads.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Carney, and investigated by the Springfield Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.