On Monday, December 20, a 61-year-old Independence man pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing three banks- including one in the KMMO listening area- within about a month in 2019.

A news release says Hubert J. Holmes pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery and two counts of bank robbery.

Holmes used a firearm to rob Summit Ridge Credit Union in Lee’s Summit on May 21 and Central Bank of the Midwest in Kansas City on June 7. Holmes also robbed the Bank of Odessa on June 20.

Authorities say at the Bank of Odessa, Holmes put on a ski mask when he approached a teller’s window and demanded she open the drawer. Holmes reached over the counter and seized $3,099 from the teller’s cash drawer. Holmes then fled from the bank on foot and met an accomplice who was driving his van parked nearby. Holmes dropped money in the alley as he approached the van. Holmes picked up the money he dropped and got into the rear driver’s side of the van, which was being driven by another person. Holmes was arrested on June 20, 2019, following the robbery of the Bank of Odessa.

The plea agreement also refers to a robbery of Country Club Bank in North Kansas City on December 26, 2018.

Holmes was on federal supervised release at the time of these offenses following a prior felony conviction for bank robbery.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced to at least 10 years and up to 15 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.