Indictment Charges Two Logan County Men with Central Illinois Bank Robberies

SPRINGFIELD, IL—A federal grand jury has returned an indictment that charges Joseph M. Allspach, 25, and Robert D. McKissic, 32, both of Lake Fork, Illinois, with two counts of armed bank robbery, one count of attempted armed bank robbery, and one count of carjacking related to robberies that took place in September and October 2012.
The indictment, returned late yesterday, alleges that the two men committed armed bank robberies of the Bank of Chestnut in Chestnut, Illinois, on September 17, 2012, when approximately $8,756 was taken; and at Kenney Bank and Trust, Kenney, Illinois, on October 24, 2012, when approximately $38,221 was taken. The indictment alleges the pair attempted an armed bank robbery of the Town and Country Bank in Buffalo, Illinois, on October 23, 2012. Allspach and McKissic are also charged with taking by force a bank employee’s car on October 24, following the alleged armed bank robbery.
The two men were previously charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on December 18, 2012, and they were taken into federal law enforcement custody. Following hearings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron G. Cudmore, both men were ordered to remain detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
If convicted, each offense of armed bank robbery and attempted armed bank robbery carries a statutory penalty of up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Carjacking carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Illinois State Police; the Logan County Sheriff’s Office; DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office; Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office; the Buffalo/Mechanicsburg Police Department; and the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris is prosecuting the case.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

West Frankfort Woman Pleads Guilty to Disaster Relief Fraud

April D. Trexler, 32, of West Frankfort, Illinois, pled guilty today in United States District Court in Benton to a one count indictment charging her with fraudulently claiming disaster relief benefits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on June 5, 2012, alleged that in the aftermath of the wide-spread flooding in Southern Illinois in the spring and summer of 2011, Trexler submitted a false application and supporting documents to FEMA claiming that she had been forced to relocate because of the flooding and requesting relocation assistance funds from that agency. Trexler, however, had not been forced to relocate or otherwise affected by the flooding. As a result of her false submissions, Trexler fraudulently received $4,597 in relocation assistance payments from FEMA.
Trexler faces up to five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised to follow her incarceration of up to three years. Sentencing was set for March 28, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at the United States District Courthouse in Benton.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of FEMA.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.