Klenda, Davis plead guilty to armed robbery
Brandon Klenda, 17, a rural Lincolnville teenager, entered a guilty plea May 26 in McPherson County District Court to the Jan. 3 armed robbery of Roxbury State Bank.
Roxbury is in northeast McPherson County.
Jackie B. Davis, 20, of rural Ramona, a second suspect in the case, earlier pled guilty to aggravated armed robbery.
Klenda and Davis were accused of robbing the bank at gunpoint of $5,681.
Davis was arrested by Marion County Sheriff's officers Jan. 7 at his parents' home. Klenda was arrested two days later at a residence in Lost Springs.
The Hutchinson News reported that Klenda is free on bond and is under the supervision of a Juvenile Justice Authority official in Marion County.
Klenda will be sentenced at 11:30 a.m. July 8. The juvenile could be assessed time in a correctional facility until his 21st birthday.
Davis faces up to 12 years in prison and will be sentenced July 21.
Details of the robbery were disclosed.
According to witnesses, the two individuals, wearing brown coveralls and navy blue ski masks, entered the bank at 10:35 a.m. Jan. 3.
McPherson County Sheriff Larry Powell said one man was carrying a shotgun and the other carried a semi-automatic handgun.
One suspect reportedly jumped over the counter and demanded money from a teller, Powell said.
The two men then fled in a 1988 Chevrolet Sprint allegedly taken from a Herington car dealer. The vehicle later was recovered northeast of Roxbury.
The robbers fled in a brown and silver half-ton Dodge pickup after abandoning the Chevrolet, Powell said. The truck was spotted in Dickinson County on the day of the robbery.
Investigators also recovered a shotgun used in the robbery and clothing.
After a February preliminary hearing in the case, in which Klenda testified against Davis, DNA evidence taken from a mask was analyzed and linked the mask to Davis, according to McPherson County Attorney Ty Kaufman.
A third arrest has been made related to the case. Marion County Sheriff Lee Becker said a follow-up investigation led to the May 14 arrest of the adult female in whose house Klenda took refuge.
She will be charged with aiding a felon, contributing to a child's misconduct, endangering a child, and furnishing intoxicants to a minor, Becker said. The woman's first appearance in Marion County District Court has been set for June 2.
Sheriff Becker said he and KBI and FBI officers continue to follow up on "good" leads being received relating to the November 2001 and March 2002 Pilsen State Bank robberies at Lincolnville.
