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Curtis L. Ralls

A man who led authoities on a high speed chase Monday March 15th after allegedly robbing a Springfield bank is facing federal charges for the bank heist.

Curtis L. Ralls, 43, of Greene County, was charged with bank robbery in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield. Ralls remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Friday, March 19, 2010. Ralls pleaded guilty in state court today (03-16-10) to driving without a license and was sentenced to 48 hours in jail for that crime.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Ralls entered Empire Bank, 3555 N. Glenstone Ave., in Springfield, at approximately 3:24 p.m. Monday, March 15, 2010. Ralls allegedly gave a note to a bank teller that said, “I have a gun! Give me the money.”

A witness told police officers he saw a man run behind a nearby Kum-N-Go gas station, then drive off in a red Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with no license plates. The witness also told police officers that the truck had wood or lumber in the back.

A description of the vehicle was broadcast and a Greene County Sheriff’s deputy identified a vehicle matching the description. A pursuit ensued, the affidavit says, and when the vehicle was stopped, Ralls was arrested. Inside the car, cops found a jacket, sunglasses and gloves that matched those depicted in bank surveillance footage of the robber and described by witnesses. Stuffed inside one of the gloves was $1,720, the amount stolen from Empire Bank

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