Kansas City career criminal gets a 16-year sentence for Brookside bank robbery

A Kansas City man was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in federal prison for holding up a bank in Brookside.

Casey M. Widman, 60, was sentenced as a career offender, having approximately 92 criminal convictions. It was the third time Widman has been convicted of bank robbery, the 15th felony conviction and the seventh violent-crime conviction. He also has 77 misdemeanor convictions, according to federal authorities.

In December 2013, Widman stole $838 from a teller at the Bank Midwest at 6249 Brookside Blvd. The teller said the robber brandished a black pistol and said he wanted to make a withdrawal in “fifties and hundreds.” The pistol turned out to be a pellet gun. The teller complied with the demand, but Widman became upset and told her that he wanted more money, federal authorities said.

The teller placed more money on the counter, which Widman took before fleeing. Afterward, a witness told police he had seen a blue Ford Taurus parked nearby. The vehicle left the bank immediately following the robbery. An officer saw a car matching that description pulling into a gas station. Widman, who matched the description of the robber, was a passenger in the back seat.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Kansas City career criminal gets a 16-year sentence for Brookside bank robbery."