TOPEKA – A 54-year-old Kansas City, Mo., man has been charged with attempting to rob a Topeka credit union.

Charles E. Shaw was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Topeka with one count of attempted armed robbery and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in a crime of violence.

The complaint alleges that at about 11:20 a-m, on Feb. 9, Shaw rode a bicycle to the Educational Credit Union at 901 Topeka Boulevard. He was wearing a blue stocking cap, sunglasses and a blue bandana around his neck and carrying a blue fanny pack. A bank security guard was suspicious because he believed Shaw matched the description of a robber from a previous robbery at the credit union.

When the guard approached Shaw and tried to question him, Shaw left the bank and began running. After Shaw slipped and fell down, he was taken into custody. Police found a .45 caliber pistol in his fanny pack.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the attempted robbery charge and a penalty of not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the firearms charge.