Couple is charged with robbing Kansas City bank

A 22-year-old woman and her boyfriend are accused of robbing a Kansas City bank last Saturday.

Sherry L. Ridout and 23-year-old Austin D. Bales were charged Thursday with robbing the U.S. Bank inside a grocery store in the 1000 block of West 103rd Street.

Several people who knew Ridout called police after recognizing her from surveillance pictures released to the media, according to court documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Bales was identified as her boyfriend. They live in the basement of a relative of Bales in the Northland, according to documents.

They were arrested Wednesday and both admitted to committing the robbery, according to the documents.

Ridout allegedly said they did it because they needed money to pay a debt to a drug dealer who threatened to harm one of her relatives if she didn’t do it.

Bales allegedly admitted that he drove the getaway vehicle after the robbery, which he said was committed to pay a debt.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Couple is charged with robbing Kansas City bank."