KC Reporter

Two Kansas City men have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a bank robbery. Rathell Quavon Ross, 28, received a 77-month prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips. His co-defendant, Gerrad D. Rivera-Willis, was previously sentenced to 72 months on April 22, 2025.

Court documents state that Rivera-Willis and Ross parked near a Kansas City bank before entering and threatening employees while demanding money. The two left with $2,033 and departed in the same vehicle they arrived in. Law enforcement identified the vehicle as one also used in a previous bank robbery at another location.

Officers later found the vehicle, prompting both men to flee on foot. Ross was discovered hiding under a tarp with the vehicle's keys in his possession. Police tracked Rivera-Willis’s path using a K-9 unit and recovered the stolen cash hidden under a cinder block close to where he was arrested. Rivera-Willis admitted involvement in the earlier bank robbery and was ordered to pay $8,542 in restitution.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. Foley and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

"This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."