Jacob L. Smith, Bank Robbery, Kansas 2023

STILWELL, KAN. – A brazen daylight robbery of the First National Bank in Stilwell turned into a 25-minute, cross-state line chase and shootout, culminating in the sentencing of two Kansas City, Kan., residents. Jacob L. Smith, 19, will spend the next 300 months – 25 years – in federal prison, while accomplice Danille Morris, 27, received a 200-month sentence, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall announced Monday.

The pair robbed the bank at 7460 W. 199th Street on March 9, 2016, brandishing handguns and holding tellers at gunpoint before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash stuffed into a backpack. According to court documents, Gary Jordan, 40, also of Kansas City, Kan., was the getaway driver. What followed was a reckless flight from justice that put multiple law enforcement officers and, shockingly, Morris’s own 19-month-old child, in grave danger.

The Kansas Highway Patrol, Leawood Police Department, and other agencies quickly engaged in a pursuit that stretched across the Kansas/Missouri state line. But the robbers weren’t content to simply flee. Smith repeatedly opened fire on pursuing officers – six times in total – from the moving vehicle. This wasn’t just a robbery gone wrong; it was a deliberate assault on law enforcement.

The chase ended violently when the getaway car overturned on a sharp turn. Both Smith and Morris were arrested at the scene. Disturbingly, the 19-month-old child was still inside the vehicle throughout the entire high-speed pursuit and gun battle. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm. Morris’s guilty plea included one count of bank robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm, and the added charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm following a felony conviction.

“This case highlights the serious consequences of violent crime and the dedication of law enforcement to protecting our communities,” stated Beall. The investigation was a multi-agency effort, involving the FBI, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol, Leawood Police Department, Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley prosecuted the case.

While 25 years behind bars won’t undo the terror inflicted on Stilwell and the officers who pursued them, it sends a clear message: armed robbery and attacks on law enforcement will be met with the full force of the federal justice system. The fate of Gary Jordan remains unclear at the time of this publication.