Armed robbery reported at cellphone store in Harrisonville

Three people from Kansas City were in custody and charged Friday following a report of an armed robbery in Harrisonville, police said.

Court records indicated that the Cass County prosecutor’s office on Friday charged Calvin C. Wallace III, Nathaniel J. Carruth and Alicia M. McGee in connection to the robbery.

Wallace, 26, was charged with first-degree robbery and resisting arrest, with bail set at $50,000 cash only. Carruth, 21, was charged with a felony count of resisting arrest by fleeing, with bail set at $10,000. McGee, also 21, was charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest, with bail set at $3,500.

According to a Facebook post from the Harrisonville Police Department, officers were called at 5:19 p.m. Thursday to a reported armed robbery at the AT&T store at 303 South Commercial St. The robbers were not on the scene by the time officers arrived, but police said authorities gathered a description of them and their vehicle. The vehicle was a black 2010 Kia Forte, according to court documents.

An employee at the cellphone store said the robber had a silver revolver, and described him as a black male wearing a red shirt and jeans with a gold grill, and said the man had been in the store five times throughout the day Thursday but had not purchased anything. The man was later identified by police as Wallace.

During the robbery, the employee said the man took 29 Apple iPhones, an iPad and $205 in cash from the register. The witness told police the man then fled out the back door and got into the Kia Forte with two other occupants, identified by police as Carruth and McGee.

Police said a short time later, a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office saw the vehicle traveling north on Interstate 49 near Peculiar. The vehicle allegedly sped away from the deputy and continued to go north. The vehicle eventually stopped in Belton near the intersection of 163rd Street and Interstate 49.

Three people had fled on foot but were soon taken into custody by deputies and officers from the Belton Police Department.

One suspect was taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries but was treated and released Thursday, police said. No other injuries were reported from the incident.

Authorities in court documents also said they found a black Glock handgun but had not yet located a silver revolver as described by the store employee.

In interviews with police, court documents said, Carruth and McGee stated they didn’t know Wallace was going to commit a robbery and had just allowed him to use their vehicle as they did not know where they were going.

Wallace declined to provide details to police but allegedly stated the incident was “all me, they had nothing to do with it.”

Police said the three suspects were in custody Friday and were being held in the Cass County jail.

“At this time, we feel that all of the suspects from this incident are in custody and are currently being held in the Cass County Jail,” police said in a statement Friday.

“Formal charges will be presented to the Cass County Prosecuting Attorney today for review. The HPD would like to thank the Cass County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Belton Police Department for their outstanding assistance provided with this case.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Armed robbery reported at cellphone store in Harrisonville."