3 allegedly tied to shootings, robberies as part of KC crime group held without bond

Three men Kansas City police allege are part of a group linked to numerous violent crimes were ordered held in federal custody Tuesday.

All three were arrested last week, and on Tuesday they appeared in federal court where a judge granted a motion by prosecutors to have them held without bond.

Chrizion Banks, 20, is charged with the armed robbery of another man after the victim met someone through an online ad to sell a gun.

Trevontae L. Stewart, 24, and Cedric D. Ford, 28, are each charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Kansas City Police Capt. Chris Young said Tuesday that all three were part of a “group” that had been involved in a “bunch” of criminal activity.

“These are guys who been on our radar for some time,” Young said.

During a detention hearing for all three men Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, an Independence police detective assigned to the FBI’s career criminal task force described the numerous contacts between the men and police.

All three have prior felony convictions, including a 2005 manslaughter conviction for Ford when he was a juvenile.

In Tuesday’s testimony, Detective Loran Freeman said all three have been suspects or persons of interest in shootings, robberies and burglaries.

They and their associates also have been involved in fleeing from police in vehicles where guns and drugs were later recovered by police.

Ford is currently on parole and Banks is currently on probation, according to testimony.

According to court documents filed in the current federal court cases, a man who placed an online ad to sell a .38-caliber revolver was contacted by a man who called himself “Joe.”

They agreed to meet in a restaurant parking lot in the 3800 block of Blue Ridge Cutoff.

There, the victim was confronted by three men armed with handguns. He was pistol-whipped and robbed of his revolver, wallet and pickup truck, according to the documents.

Investigators traced the phone number used by “Joe” back to Banks, and the victim then identified his photograph as one of the robbers, according to the allegations in court documents.

On Nov. 29, a task force of local and federal law enforcement officers was looking for Banks as well as suspects in other violent crimes, according to the documents.

They were conducting surveillance at a house in the 2400 block of Cypress Avenue, when a Dodge SUV occupied by Ford and Stewart pulled up.

When officers approached the SUV, Stewart allegedly got out and started running. Ford allegedly drove off at a high rate of speed.

Banks was spotted standing outside and was taken into custody, as was Stewart after a short foot chase.

Ford was arrested after the SUV crashed into a police vehicle and rolled over in the yard of a home in the 4100 block of East 26th Street, according to the court documents.

Stewart and Ford were charged with possessing guns found near where they were arrested.

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 12:57 PM with the headline "3 allegedly tied to shootings, robberies as part of KC crime group held without bond."