SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A southwest Missouri man has admitted holding up a Springfield bank late last year.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Kwanell Allen faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to bank robbery and using a firearm in a violent crime.
The 21-year-old Springfield resident was charged with robbing a branch of Great Southern Bank of nearly $21,000 last Nov. 26. Prosecutors said Allen held a pistol to the head of the branch manager as he ordered a teller to empty a cash drawer into a trash bag.
KYTV reports (http://bit.ly/yxrQhv) that Allen told FBI agents he had needed money for rent. Online court records showed his landlord went to court to evict Allen and his wife 12 days before the holdup, then withdrew the lawsuit two days after the robbery.