A Sedalia, Missouri man has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison without parole for attempting to rob a local bank. Cleburn Bruce Greene, 51, received the sentence from U.S. Chief District Judge Brian C. Wimes.
Greene pleaded guilty on May 22, 2025, to one count of attempted bank robbery related to an incident that took place on October 1, 2024.
According to statements from bank employees and surveillance footage, Greene entered the bank at around 10:08 a.m., wrote a note at the customer service counter, and then approached a teller with it. The note read: “Give me your money.” When asked if he had an account at the bank, Greene replied: “No. this is a robbery.” He also said: “Don’t play with me” and “don’t make me do something crazy,” or similar words. As the teller worked on his computer to access emergency cash, Greene left the bank and discarded the note in a nearby dumpster. Investigators later recovered the note and surveillance video showed Greene leaving in a Kia Sportage.
Kansas City Police officers located Greene later that day at about 3:30 p.m. in a restaurant parking lot in Kansas City, Missouri. He was wearing the same clothes as during the attempted robbery. Officers followed him to a gas station where they arrested him without incident.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford prosecuted the case with assistance from the FBI and Kansas City Police Department.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America, which aims to use Department of Justice resources against illegal immigration, criminal organizations and violent crime.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri manages federal prosecutions across 66 counties in western Missouri, covering areas from the Iowa border south to Arkansas and west from Kansas toward central Missouri. The office operates out of Kansas City, Jefferson City and Springfield official website. It works with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners official website on issues such as violent crime and drug trafficking official website.
