KANSAS CITY &mash; Ten people were in custody Saturday night following an armed robbery, kidnapping, two carjackings — including a U.S. Postal Service van — and a standoff that lasted several hours.
Five of the suspects were adults and the rest were juveniles in their mid-teens. Two of the suspects were female, one an adult.
The events began to unfold about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
“We got a call to the area of St. John and Kensington (avenues) in regard to two carjackings,” said Officer Darin Snapp, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman. “One of them was involving a postal carrier — a U.S. Postal truck was taken.”
While officers were investigating that one, police received a call reporting an armed street robbery at a residence in the 3900 block of Windsor Avenue.
A man told police that as he and his 11-year-old nephew were getting out of their vehicle, several males robbed them at gunpoint.
“They then forced the 11-year-old in their vehicle and fled the scene,” Snapp said. The victim followed the men to a residence in the 4000 block of Morrell Avenue.
“When they pulled up to the house, the suspects got out and the 11-year-old got out, but he ran and got away,” Snapp said. The boy’s uncle, however, didn’t see the boy escape.
“When we (police) got to the house, the 11-year-old actually came up and talked to an officer and said, ‘Hey, I was the kid involved in this,’” Snapp said. “So we knew he was safe.”
Police surrounded the house and at about 4:10 p.m. called for an Operation 100. When police contacted those inside the house, six of the suspects surrendered right away, Snapp said. About half hour later, two more people came out.
Negotiators began talking with one person inside the house and about 7:30 p.m., the remaining two suspects inside the house surrendered. They have been identified as those involved in the postal service carjacking and the robbery on Windsor, Snapp said.
“We are calling them 10 suspects right now because there were three robberies that occurred about the same time,” Snapp said.
Police arrested one suspect after a carjacking when the suspect wrecked the car into a curb near St. John and Jackson avenues.
Charges are expected to be filed Sunday.
No one was seriously injured. The postal delivery carrier was hit in the head, but didn’t require medical attention. The postal vehicle was recovered about 7:45 p.m. in an alley in the area.
Read the full story at KansasCity.com
