WICHITA – Even though a 27-year-old man in custody here in Hutchinson after an apparent bank robbery in Arlington Tuesday morning and made an initial court appearance Wednesday morning, he has now been charged in federal court.
A federal criminal complaint filed in U-S District Court in Wichita, charges Jacob W. Schrock, with robbing the bank in Arlington.
An FBI agent’s affidavit alleges Schrock walked into the Citizen’s Community Bank about 10:46 a-m Tuesday carrying a sawed off shotgun and wore a cowboy hat, sunglasses, vest and a blue bandana covering his face. He demanded cash, and then demanded the keys to the tellers vehicle. He then left in her Mercury Marquis left northbound on K-61.
At 11:08 a-m, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Grant Blaylock pulled Schrock over in a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup on Highway 50 near Salem Road in Reno County.
Blaylock was checking the area of U-S 50 and Salem for the suspect vehicle. He noticed a white male matching the robbery suspects description, pass him in a pickup. The man looked away when he passed, raising the officers suspicion.
Blaylock also noticed that the pickup had no tag, so he made a traffic stop approximately 1/2 mile west of Salem on U-S 50. While the Trooper was talking to the driver he noticed a shotgun in the seat. He then removed Schrock from the vehicle and saw a stack of money laying in the seat. Schrock was then arrested without incident.
One question remains, if he left his truck at the location where the tellers car was found, how did he get to the bank from Castleton Road? Officials are looking into the possibility that he may have had accomplices.
If convicted on the federal charge, Schrock faces a maximum penalty of 25-years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
According to the sheriff arrest report, Schrock was facing three counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping, theft of the bank tellers car, and a charge for a criminal carrying a weapon in District Court. But, all of those charges will be considered when the feds take the case to a federal grand jury and the state will not pursue charges in District Court.