third man charged in armed robbery of brink's truck
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Grandview, Mo., man has been charged in federal court with the armed robbery of a Brink’s truck.
Larry Platt, 20, of Grandview, was charged with armed robbery in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010. Platt was arrested today and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010.
Platt is the third defendant to be charged in the armored car theft. Deangelo Colston, 20, and Gerald Jones, 20, both of Raytown, Mo., were recently indicted for armed robbery and for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Today’s complaint alleges that Platt, along with Colston and Jones, stole $130,000 at gunpoint from two Brink’s, Inc., employees who were delivering money to an ATM at Bank of America, 3100 Main, Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 30, 2010.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, the Brink’s armored vehicle was parked in the bank’s drive-through at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2010. The driver remained in the vehicle while another Brink’s employee serviced the ATM. Platt, Colston and Jones allegedly exited a vehicle that was parked next to the drive-through. One of the men pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the driver of the armored vehicle, the affidavit says, while two men held semi-automatic handguns on the second Brink’s employee who was opening the ATM.
The Brink’s employee, who felt a gun pressed against his left ear and another at the back of his head, held both of his hands up, the affidavit says. The armed robbers took two bags, one of which contained $130,000 in $20 bills and the other paperwork. The three robbers fled in a Ford SUV.
Law enforcement officers received an anonymous tip on Sept. 9, 2010, identifying Colston and Jones as two of the armed robbers. According to the affidavit, the caller said that Colston and Jones had spent approximately $2,500 taking a “crew” to Worlds of Fun, had been spending money at Independence Center, and that Jones had just purchased a Dodge Charger.
Jones was arrested during a traffic stop the next day, Sept. 10, 2010. He was carrying $400 in mostly $20 bills, the affidavit says, and police officers found $900 in $20 bills in his vehicle. Colston was also arrested in a separate traffic stop the same day. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence where Jones and Colston were staying and discovered a pillowcase containing 10 stacks of $20 bills banded together, a backpack containing 33 stacks of $20 bills bundled together, another pillowcase containing two stacks of $20 bills bundled together and a loaded Jimenez Arms 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
Law enforcement officers searched Colston’s cell phone and obtained enough information to locate Platt.
Phillips cautioned that these charges are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Raytown, Mo., Police Department and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
