MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop I Headquarters, P.O. Box 128, Rolla, Mo 65402


News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Dan Crain
573-368-2345
April 29, 2010
I04D10

EMPHASIS: Cuba Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested In Phelps County


At approximately 10:35 a.m., April 29, 2010, the First Community National Bank of Cuba was robbed by a white male, who stated he was armed. Following the robbery, the suspect reportedly fled in a white, Dodge Grand Caravan, bearing Missouri license plates. The description of the suspect and the vehicle used matched that of five previous bank robberies that had occurred in the following Missouri communities: Moberly, Sedalia, Rolla, Chillicothe, and El Dorado Springs.
Local, county, and state agencies within the surrounding area immediately began an intensive search for the suspect following the robbery. At approximately 11:29 a.m., April 29, 2010, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper spotted a minivan that matched the description of the one used in the robbery, near the intersection of Missouri Highway 8 and Missouri Highway 68 in Phelps County. The trooper stopped the vehicle on MO 8, just south of St. James. Further investigation revealed that inside the vehicle was a loaded handgun, and money believed to have been stolen from the Cuba Bank.
Arrested for the bank robbery of First Community National Bank in Cuba was John David Farnell, 58, of Fulton, Missouri.
The investigation of this bank robbery is being conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cuba Police Department, Rolla Police Department, and Crawford County Sheriff’s Department.
The charges for which Farnell has been arrested are mere accusation and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.


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