Man charged with robbing KCK bank located on the same block as police HQ

A 62-year-old man with a criminal record dating back nearly 40 years was charged Friday with robbing a Kansas City, Kan., bank.

Lawrence McGinnis, who lives only two blocks from the Bank of Labor, located at 756 Minnesota Ave., was followed home by a bank security guard after the Thursday morning robbery.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, the robber handed a note to a teller demanding “100s and 50s.”

When the robber ran out, he passed a security guard and yelled out that the bank had just been robbed.

Because he was the only one running, court documents say the security guard followed him.

With the help of witnesses, the guard followed McGinnis to an apartment building in the 700 block of Nebraska Avenue. Police were called and McGinnis was arrested.

McGinnis has three prior robbery convictions dating to 1979, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.

He was released on parole last September, records show.

Despite being on the same block as Kansas City, Kan., police headquarters, this was the second time in two years that the Bank of Labor has been robbed.

In 2016, it was held up by a man who told police he committed the crime because he would rather go to prison than stay with his wife.