Kansas City Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery, Carjacking

U.S. Attorney’s Office
19 November 2015

KANSAS CITY, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man who was shot by police officers pleaded guilty in federal court today to bank robbery and to using a firearm in an attempted carjacking.

Steven Marquain Davis, 29, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to bank robbery and to using a firearm during a violent crime (carjacking).

By pleading guilty today, Davis admitted that he used a bomb to rob the Commerce Bank at 922 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 9, 2015. Davis entered the bank between 4:10 and 4:20 p.m. Davis, holding a remote control device, approached a teller counter and placed a black duffel bag on the counter. The remote control was described as having a red wire wrapped around it, similar in appearance to the remote used on remote control toys. Davis told the teller “gimme everything” and that “it’s” on the side of the building, which the teller believed referred to a bomb because of the remote he was holding. The teller placed $29,689 in the black duffel bag.

After Davis left the bank, he approached a 2012 Suzuki Grand Vitara on Petticoat Lane, mid-block between Main Street and Walnut Avenue. Davis pulled on the door handle and ordered the driver to open the door. When she refused, he pointed a handgun at her and again stated, “Open the door.” He began banging on the window of her vehicle with the handgun and she drove away from the area.

A witness confronted Davis in the street. Davis pointed a handgun at the witness and stated, “What are you looking at?” Davis tried unsuccessfully to get into two other cars in the area before multiple police officers arrived on the scene. Davis pointed a handgun at the officers, who then fired at Davis and wounded him before taking him into custody. Investigators collected $29,690, a remote device and a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver from the scene where Davis was arrested.

FBI agents located a device that appeared to be a bomb in the southwest area of the bank lobby. FBI and Kansas City, Mo., Police Department bomb technicians responded and determined the explosive device posed an imminent threat to public safety. Bomb technicians rendered the device safe.

Under federal statutes, Davis is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole for the firearm conviction, which must be served consecutively to his sentence for bank robbery, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin G. Davids. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.