KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A toy gun was the weapon a 34-year-old man used last week to try to rob a bank in Trimble, Mo., according to investigators.
But the bank worker who shot him in the face didn’t know that when he stepped in to try to protect a female teller crawling on the ground.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri announced Monday that Michael Oliva was charged in federal court in connection to the attempted bank robbery and leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase.
Oliva, who has not yet had a court appearance, remains hospitalized and in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
According to an affidavit filed in support of Monday’s criminal complaint, Oliva entered First Security Bank, 202 U.S. Hwy. 169, Trimble, at about 1:25 p.m. Friday, March 1.
Oliva allegedly pulled on a black mask, pointed what appeared to be a handgun, but was later found to be a realistic plastic replica, at a bank employee and ordered her to give him the money in her teller drawer.
The employee instead dropped to the floor behind the teller stations and began crawling toward another bank employee, shouting for help. As she was crawling, the affidavit says, she saw Oliva lean over the teller station and point his handgun at her. She grabbed a plastic trash can and tossed it over the teller counter toward Oliva; however, Oliva had moved around the end of the teller stations and was directly behind her.
The second bank employee, who was in an office, heard the shouts for help. He saw Oliva pointing a handgun at the first bank employee, the affidavit says, and retrieved a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver. He fired two rounds at Oliva. The first shot struck Oliva in the jaw, according to the affidavit, and he turned and started toward the bank’s front doors.
No money was taken during the attempted robbery.
After Oliva left the bank, the affidavit says, the first employee got up from the floor and saw him staggering behind a nearby building. She then saw a silver car drive very fast on Hwy. 169 past the bank, and called 9-1-1. The man had left a sizable trail of blood for about 150-200 feet that led to a handicapped parking space in the nearby building’s parking lot.
According to the affidavit, Trimble police officers located Oliva’s Dodge Stratus and began pursuing him at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. Officers deployed spike strips and the vehicle stopped.
When officers approached the car, Oliva got out of the vehicle and asked, “You guys going to let me die?”
Officers noted that Oliva appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the jaw or chin and there was a large amount of blood on Oliva and in his vehicle.
The worker who fired the shot was not expected to be charged because he had a conceal carry permit.
“Anybody that does any kind of crime, breaks into houses or goes and robs anybody they basically they’re taking their own life on the line,” said Chief Larry Fish, Trimble Police Chief.
Oliva was arrested and transported to an emergency room for medical treatment.
http://fox4kc.com/2013/03/04/man-charged-in-attempted-trimble-bank-robbery-chase/