Ex-Cop Charged in $7,000 Bank Heist

Ex-Cop Charged in $7,000 Bank Heist

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Lee’s Summit police officer was charged in federal court today with armed bank robbery after leading officers on a 100-miles-per-hour vehicle pursuit.

Richard W. Hagerty, 35, was charged in a two-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. Hagerty was a police officer with the Lee’s Summit Police Department from 2007 to 2016.

Today’s criminal complaint charges Hagerty with one count of bank robbery and one count of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. Hagerty remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Hagerty entered Central Bank of the Midwest, located at 1305 N.W. Arborwalk Blvd. in Lee’s Summit, on Tuesday morning, Aug. 28, 2018. Hagerty, wearing a camouflage balaclava-style mask that covered part of his face and black gloves, pointed a Glock .40-caliber pistol at a customer and yelled, ‘Everybody get down on the floor, this is a robbery.’ He demanded cash from two tellers, pointing the handgun at them while he was demanding money. Hagerty allegedly stole about $7,000 then fled from the bank on foot.

A Lee’s Summit police officer located Hagerty driving a dark gray Mazda on Hook Road and 139th Street shortly after the robbery. When the officer activated his emergency equipment, Hagerty accelerated and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit stretched from Lee’s Summit to Grandview, Mo., in the middle of the day, on busy thoroughfares. Hagerty drove erratically during the pursuit, the affidavit says, by reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour on those busy roads, passing through school zones, and crossing into oncoming traffic.

After the vehicle was finally stopped, the officer gave verbal instructions for the occupant of the Mazda to exit the vehicle. After a short delay, Hagerty exited through the driver’s side door of the vehicle with his hands raised above his head. The officer immediately recognized Hagerty, who was arrested.

Inside the vehicle, officers saw a large amount of cash on the driver’s seat and the front driver’s and passenger’s floorboard. They also recovered the Glock handgun from the vehicle.