Officer's memory leads to arrest of juvenile armed robbery suspect

Posted: March 7, 2013 - 11:10am

McDonald's restaurant at 16210 W. 65th Street in Shawnee
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Shawnee Police say they arrested a 16-year-old male just a couple hours after he allegedly robbed a local McDonald's restaurant.

Wednesday, March 6th around 4:10 p.m., police responded to the McDonald's restaurant located at 16210 W. 65th Street following reports of an armed robbery.

The store manager told officers that a male came into the business, ordered a drink and then demanded money from the cash register.

Witnesses described the suspect as a white male, possibly 18-22 years old. The suspect did not display a weapon but, police say he kept his hands in his pockets as if he may have had one.

Employees cooperated with the suspect, who left the business after obtaining the cash drawer, which contained an undetermined amount of cash. Witnesses said the suspect left the business in a gray early 1980's Toyota with a Kansas antique license plate. Police searched the area for the suspect and did not immediately locate him or the vehicle.

Another Shawnee officer heard the suspect information broadcast over the police radio and remembered making a traffic stop on a similar vehicle and driver in the recent past. The officer checked his records and found that he had stopped a gray 1978 Toyota with a Kansas antique license plate that matched the one given by witnesses. The vehicle had been stopped on February 8th for running a red light at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Nieman Road. The officer identified the juvenile driver of the Toyota as the suspect in the armed robbery.

Shawnee Police located the vehicle around 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 11100 block of W. 57th Street. The 16-year-old suspect was taken into Police custody without incident. He was transported to the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Facility to be held pending formal charges in the armed robbery.

Police say there were no injuries in the robbery. The suspect's name is not being released because he is a juvenile.


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