JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kingdom City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for robbing an employee at the Kingdom City post office.
Lucas Wayne Branstetter, 39, of Kingdom City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to seven years in federal prison without parole. Branstetter was sentenced as a career offender due to his prior felony convictions.
On Sept. 18, 2014, Branstetter pleaded guilty to robbing a postal employee. Branstetter entered a postal facility in Kingdom City on July 19, 2014, and presented a note to a postal employee that stated, “This is a robbery." The postal employee placed $310 from the cash drawer into Branstetter’s backpack and he drove away from the post office on a motorcycle.
According to court documents, Branstetter was identified by a confidential source on July 21, 2014. On the same day, Branstetter was arrested for possessing stolen property after Laclede County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a call regarding a suspicious person sleeping behind a local church. A stolen motorcycle was also parked behind the church. Branstetter had an active arrest warrant for forgery from the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department.
Branstetter has been convicted of at least 12 felonies, including four prior felony convictions for burglary and a prior felony conviction for robbery, as well as numerous misdemeanors.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Callaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Laclede County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
