Two sentenced in BJ bank robbery

Two of the three men convicted of robbing the Citizens Bank & Trust branch in Burlington Junction on March 21, 2014, have been sentenced in federal court.

Donald D. Kestner Jr., 27, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Travis Joe Davis, 28, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, were sentenced Wednesday before federal District Judge Greg Kays.

Kestner was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, and Davis was sentenced to 16 years and eight months. Both sentences are to be served without the possibility of parole.

The third defendant, Joseph O’Neill, has yet to be sentenced.

All three men pleaded guilty in October to a federal charge of armed bank robbery.

After entering the bank, two of the defendants displayed a semi-automatic pistol and an air gun, escaping with more than $12,000 in cash. The third robber remained at the wheel of a getaway car.

A bystander alerted law enforcement while the robbery was in progress, and the three men were captured near the Iowa line after a brief pursuit.