71-year-old Columbia man charged with bank robbery and brandishing firearm

Basil Jacob Kyles, 71, of Columbia, Missouri, faces federal charges after a grand jury returned an indictment May 14, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

The three-count indictment alleges Kyles committed bank robbery, brandished a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and possessed a firearm as a convicted felon. Per the Department of Justice release, each count corresponds to distinct federal statutes that carry separate penalties.

The bank robbery charge applies to a single incident at an unidentified Columbia bank. The brandishing count triggers a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years that must run consecutively to any sentence on the robbery count. The felon-in-possession count rests on Kyles’s prior felony conviction, which under federal law bars him from possessing any firearm or ammunition.

The indictment shifts the case from local law-enforcement investigation to federal prosecution. Sentencing will now follow federal guidelines that treat the firearm brandishing as a distinct enhancement rather than a state-level aggravator. If convicted on all counts, Kyles faces a minimum term that combines the robbery sentence, the seven-year consecutive firearms term, and any additional time attached to the felon-in-possession violation.

Federal prosecutors must next file any plea or proceed to trial under the Speedy Trial Act timeline. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local police supplied evidence cited in the charging document; those agencies will continue to support the U.S. Attorney’s Office through discovery and potential testimony.

The case adds one more felon-in-possession prosecution to the Western District of Missouri’s docket, where such charges routinely follow armed robberies once prior records surface.

This indictment follows standard procedure under 18 U.S.C. § 2113 for bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for brandishing during a crime of violence, and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) for felon firearm possession. The Department of Justice release lists no co-defendants and does not reference any broader enforcement sweep.