Travis Joe Davis
Donald Kestner
Two Iowa men were sentenced in federal court Wednesday for the armed robbery of a Burlington Junction, Mo., bank.
Donald D. Kestner, Jr., 27, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Travis Joe Davis, 28, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays. Kestner was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison without parole. Davis was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole.
Kestner pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2014, to one count of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Davis pleaded guilty on Oct. 30, 2014, to one count of bank robbery. Co-defendant Torrence Joseph O’Neill, also known as “Torry,” 27, of Pleasant, Iowa, pleaded guilty to bank robbery on Oct. 21, 2014, and awaits sentencing.
Kestner, Davis and O’Neill stole $12,282 from Citizens Bank and Trust, 102 W. Main St., Burlington Junction, Mo., on March 21, 2014. Kestner and Davis entered the bank about about 11:10 a.m. while O’Neill waited in their vehicle, a 1996 Ford Explorer, parked in an alley next to the bank.
Upon entering the bank, Kestner and Davis began yelling and brandishing weapons. Kestner brandished a silver semi-automatic pistol and Davis was armed with what appeared to be a black Uzi, but was later determined to be an air pistol. Davis remained in the lobby, while Kestner went behind the teller stations with the three bank employees. Kestner grabbed money from teller drawers. During the robbery, Kestner pointed his gun directly at a teller.
Kestner, Davis and O’Neill were arrested shortly after the robbery occurred. A Maryville Department of Public Safety officer, riding in an airplane being piloted by a citizen, spotted the three men walking and they were arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The vehicle used in the bank robbery was discovered hidden among some trees. The loot was found in one of those trees.