It’s unclear if or when anyone will face charges in connection with the robbery of the south Main CornerBank location in Winfield last summer.
Last July, Vilayphone "Joe" Phimmala was arrested a day after the robbery occurred and was eventually charged federally with a count of armed bank robbery. But DNA results were slow to come in and the charge was dismissed without prejudice in October, meaning it could later be refiled if necessary.
But nearly six months later, the charge hasn’t been refiled and no new charges have been brought, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said this week.
Cowley County Chris Smith said federal prosecutors made the call on dismissing the case and that county officials knew little of what was behind that decision. Though Phimmala was first charged by Smith’s office ? a charge that was dropped when the federal charge was filed ? Smith said it’s unlikely he’d try to revive the case.
"If the U.S. Attorney’s office has dismissed it, that’s pretty much the death knell for us doing anything," he said.
