William H. Parker III, Armed Robbery, Missouri 2014

Kansas City, MO – A string of armed robberies at local restaurants has come to an end with the guilty plea of a 5th defendant.

William H. Parker III, 21, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in the conspiracy to commit armed robberies, to one count of armed robbery and to one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.

Parker, along with four co-defendants, admitted to participating in a conspiracy to rob several fast food restaurants in the Kansas City area in the fall of 2014.

The conspirators, who were employed at a Chipotle restaurant in Blue Springs, used their knowledge of procedures to wait until the end of a business day and then rob restaurants by waiting until an employee opened a door to take trash out of the premises.

They would then rush the door to gain access, forcing the manager or shift supervisor to give them access to the restaurant’s safe. Conspirators threatened restaurant employees with an assault rifle in order to force their cooperation.

The group robbed a Chipotle restaurant in Lee’s Summit, MO, on November 3, 2014, taking $1,600; a Burger King restaurant in Independence, MO, on November 10, 2014, taking $914, and again on November 30, 2014, taking $565; and a Chipotle restaurant in Blue Springs on November 16, 2014, taking $6,800.

The group’s string of robberies came to an end when Parker, along with co-defendants Mikah M. Labayen, 20, of Blue Springs, Renargo L. Martin, 46, of Kansas City, Jeremy Hunter, 26, of Kansas City, and Isiah G. Etienne, 21, of Blue Springs, were captured after an attempted robbery of a motel.

Parker is subject to a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a consecutive sentence of at least seven years in federal prison without parole for the firearm offense.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Edwards. It was investigated by the Kansas City Police Department, the Lee’s Summit Police Department, the Blue Springs Police Department and the FBI.

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