Robbery suspect arrested after chase had bag of money in pants, roll of quarters in shoe, police say

A Kansas City man has been charged with robbing a midtown business at gunpoint and leading police on a 100-mph chase that ended in a crash.

Jackson County prosecutors charged 28-year-old Leonard H. White with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and resisting arrest.

A man with a handgun and wearing a mask robbed the Cricket Wireless store at 39th and Main streets just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday. He escaped with a blue bag full of cash and a roll of quarters. A witness saw the robber get into a black Jeep driven by another person and began to follow the jeep north on Main.

Kansas City police officers pulled the Jeep over at 31st and Main and ordered the driver out of the vehicle. That’s when White got into the driver’s seat and began driving east on 31st Street at high speed, according to the allegations.

At 31st and Troost Avenue, the Jeep struck several cars and rolled over, landing back on its tires. White tried driving away again, but because of the wreck damage, he was unable to steer and crashed again into a tree, according to court documents.

After getting White out of the vehicle, officers found a blue bag of money in his pants and a roll of quarters in his shoe, according to the documents. A gun and mask were later recovered from the Jeep.

Tony Rizzo, trizzo@kcstar.com

This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Robbery suspect arrested after chase had bag of money in pants, roll of quarters in shoe, police say."