Three Sentenced in 2016 Palo Bank Robbery

Three armed robbers who stormed the Palo Savings Bank in broad daylight are now headed to federal prison. On May 20, 2016, Lance Monden, 33, of Cedar Rapids, and Stanley Mosley, 36, of Coralville, stormed into the bank at 2:35 p.m., masks over their faces, shouting commands as they swept cash from teller drawers. The heist lasted less than a minute—but the fallout has been long and unforgiving.

Outside, Katherine Pihl, 39, of Tiffin, waited in a Ford Taurus, engine running, ready for a high-speed exit. The moment Monden and Mosley burst out of the bank, they dove into the trunk of the getaway car. Pihl peeled out, racing south toward Cedar Rapids with stolen cash stashed in the trunk and on their bodies. Witnesses didn’t hesitate—they called 911 immediately, relaying critical details about the masked men and the fleeing sedan.

Seven minutes after the robbery, Linn County Sheriff’s deputies pulled over the Ford Taurus. Inside the trunk, they found Monden and Mosley hiding. The cash—every dollar taken from the bank—was recovered on their persons and in the vehicle. The swift takedown turned a brazen crime into a textbook federal prosecution.

All three suspects pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. At sentencing in Cedar Rapids, U.S. District Judge Leonard T. Strand showed no leniency. Lance Monden was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison with 3 years of supervised release. Stanley Mosley received 132 months and 3 years supervised release. Katherine Pihl was sentenced to 24 months with 2 years of supervised release. Each must pay a $100 special assessment. There is no parole in the federal system.

Monden and Mosley remain in U.S. Marshal custody, awaiting transfer to federal prison. Pihl was released under previously set conditions and must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on December 26, 2016. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office—a local effort that landed three defendants behind federal bars.

Case file 16-CR-00051 is available via the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic filing system. Follow updates from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Iowa, on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

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