Raytown Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robberies of Brink’s Truck, Bank, and Restaurant

KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a third defendant has pleaded guilty to his role in the armed robbery of a Brink’s truck, as well as the armed robberies of a bank and a restaurant.

Gerald Jones, 21, of Raytown, Mo., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to three armed robberies and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Co-defendants Deangelo Colston, 21, of Raytown, and Larry Platt, 21, of Grandview, Mo., have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the Brink’s truck robbery. Colston also pleaded guilty to participating with Jones in the armed robberies at a bank and a restaurant, as well as to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Jones, Colston, and Platt have each admitted that they stole $130,000 at gunpoint from two Brink’s, Inc., employees who were delivering money to an ATM at Bank of America, 3100 Main, Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 30, 2010.

According to court documents, the Brink’s armored vehicle was parked in the bank’s drive-through at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2010. The driver remained in the vehicle while another Brink’s employee serviced the ATM. Jones, Colston and Platt exited a vehicle that was parked next to the drive-through. One of the men pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the driver of the armored vehicle while two men held semi-automatic handguns on the second Brink’s employee who was opening the ATM. The Brink’s employee, who felt a gun pressed against his left ear and another at the back of his head, held both of his hands up. The armed robbers took two bags, one of which contained $130,000 in $20 bills and the other paperwork, then fled in a Ford SUV.

Law enforcement officers received an anonymous tip on Sept. 9, 2010, identifying Colston and Jones as two of the armed robbers. The caller said that Colston and Jones had spent approximately $2,500 taking a “crew” to Worlds of Fun, had been spending money at Independence Center, and that Jones had just purchased a Dodge Charger. Jones and Colston were arrested during a traffic stop the next day, Sept. 10, 2010. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence where Jones and Colston were staying and discovered a pillowcase containing 10 stacks of $20 bills banded together, a backpack containing 33 stacks of $20 bills bundled together, another pillowcase containing two stacks of $20 bills bundled together and a loaded Jimenez Arms 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Law enforcement officers searched Colston’s cell phone and obtained enough information to locate Platt.

Jones and Colston also admitted that they stole $1,055 at gunpoint from Hillcrest Bank, 5901 W. 107th St., Overland Park, Kan., on July 8, 2010. They also stole $3,669 at gunpoint from Buca de Beppo Restaurant, 310 W. 47th St., Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 2, 2009.

Under federal statutes, Jones and Colston are each subject to a sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison without parole for armed bank robbery, up to 20 years in federal prison without parole for the Brink’s robbery and for the restaurant robbery, plus a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole for brandishing a firearm. Platt is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City Police Department (MO), the Raytown, Mo., Police Department and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.