VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Kevin Ray James of San Bernardino was sentenced on June 13 to 19 years to life in state prison for the 1997 murder of Monica Leech during a bank robbery in Thousand Oaks.
James pled guilty to his charge of murder on May 16, 2025, and admitted that he personally used a firearm during the crime added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Kevin Ray James entering a plea of guilty to his murder charge in May of 2025 courtesy of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office"This sentencing is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office to finally bring justice to the family, friends, co-workers and loved ones of Monica Leech," explained Senior Deputy District Attorney Richard Simon who prosecuted the case alongside Senior Deputy District Attorney Hayley Moyer.
On April 28, 1997, two armed men disguised as construction workers with raincoats, hardhats, and pantyhose over their faces entered the Western Financial Bank on Thousand Oaks Boulevard shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release Monday.
The armed men forced employees, including Monica Leech, into the vault room and demanded that they open the safe detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
During the robbery, Monica Leech and another employee were handcuffed together by the two men and forced to their knees before Monica Leech was fatally shot explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
"The emotional and mental anguish caused by the act of being robbed at gunpoint is incomparable to the horror of hearing the gun go off and seeing a colleague and friend fall over right beside me," shared Scott G. in his victim impact statement read during James' sentencing hearing. "The crime was violent, but the murder of Monica Leech was pure, unprovoked evil."
Leech, a mother of four who lived in Camarillo, died from her gunshot wound at the scene.
"The hurts, nightmares, and heartaches we all have will never go away, for one senseless act," said Floyd L. in his victim impact statement read during James' sentencing hearing on June 13 of this year. "You already had what you came for, the money, all you had to do was leave. There is no such thing as closure for what was done that day and the loss and hurt will never go away. We will all live with this for the rest of our lives because of your actions."
The two men fled the scene with a little over $11,000 in cash and the case went cold for more than two decades before new forensic evidence and investigative leads identified James as one of the two suspects explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Monday.
On March 13, 2023, James was officially charged with the murder of Leech and on April 13 of the same year pled not guilty to all charged counts. His trail was allowed to proceed in April of 2024.
"All family members have been changed to some degree due to Monica’s senseless murder," noted Christina H. in her victim impact statement. "Despite this, we stand united, determined to seek justice for Monica and to ensure that her memory lives on."
Kevin Ray James sentenced to 19 years for the 1997 murder of Monica Leech during a bank robbery News Channel 3-12.
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