Anthony Carlton Dunlap, Bank Robbery, MO 2017

Anthony Carlton Dunlap, 40, of Springfield, Mo., was charged Thursday with robbing a Bank of America branch and illegally possessing a firearm, federal prosecutors announced. The brazen heist unfolded Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, at 633 W. Kearney St., where Dunlap allegedly flashed a threatening note and hinted at a weapon to walk away with $3,910.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Dunlap walked into the bank at approximately 4:30 p.m., approached a teller, and handed over a note that began with the words, “Stay calm.” The teller refused to read further but locked eyes with Dunlap. The affidavit states Dunlap then shifted his gaze toward his hand inside his coat pocket — a clear implication he was armed.

Without hesitation, the teller handed over cash. Dunlap demanded more, saying, “Give me more,” and the teller complied. He stuffed the $3,910 into his pockets and fled the scene. Surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts helped law enforcement track his movements in the minutes after the robbery.

Police and FBI agents located Dunlap hiding in the back seat of a vehicle parked in a residential driveway nearby. When officers pulled him out, a large amount of loose cash spilled from his clothes and littered the back floorboards. Also found in the car: a loaded Hi Point .40-caliber pistol — a weapon Dunlap is legally barred from possessing due to prior felony convictions.

Dunlap now faces one count of bank robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher is prosecuting the case, which was jointly investigated by the Springfield Police Department and the FBI.

U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson emphasized that the charges are merely accusations at this stage. “Evidence must be presented to a federal trial jury,” she said, “whose sole duty is to determine guilt or innocence.” The case moves forward as federal authorities continue building their evidence against Dunlap.