KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A man who robbed the Credit Union of Johnson County and then shot a witness who was following him as he escaped was sentenced yesterday to 28 years in federal prison.
Nicholas Kamphaus, 27, confessed to the March 28, 2009, robbery, then shooting an elderly member who tried to follow him in his pick-up truck. The 71-year-old man survived the shooting.
Kamphaus burst in to the credit union that morning, vaulted the counter, scooped up cash from two tellers, then fled with the money. On his way out an elderly member who witnessed the hold up decided to follow the robber while the police were on their way. Police found the member a few blocks away shot several times and slumped over the wheel of his minivan.
The next day authorities found the getaway car and arrested Kamphaus in Kansas City, where they recovered cash from the robbery and shell casings that matched those at the scene of the shooting.
Kamphaus pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery, one count of attempted murder of a witness and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
