Man sentenced to federal prison for 2016 armed robberies around KC area

A 38-year-old man who pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing convenience stores in the Kansas City area has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri said in a news release.

Roy L. House Jr., of Kansas City, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit robbery and brandishing a loaded firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.

A co-defendant in the case, Curlie Pruitt III, 40, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced in September to 10 years and nine months in prison.

Prosecutors said the two robbed four stores at gunpoint in Independence, Excelsior Springs, Kansas City and Randolph in December 2016.

They were arrested later that month after a hotel employee in Independence called police, believing the two were going to rob the hotel.

Independence police officers responding to the call saw the two men in a Ford 500 and tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the car took off and crashed head-on with a police vehicle.