Kansas City, Kan., man, Jamerl M. Wortham, 30, has been charged with 11 additional counts related to kidnapping three women, including conspiracy to kidnap and armed robbery.
Wortham, who was previously charged with kidnapping and robbing three women, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on 15 counts, including conspiracy to kidnap and armed robbery. The indictment retains the original kidnapping charge, but adds an additional kidnapping count and an additional count of conspiracy to kidnap all three victims.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Kansas City, Kan., police officers attempted to stop a 2004 silver Jaguar in the area of 3rd and Central on Saturday, April 9, 2016. The Jaguar had been reported as stolen. During the traffic stop the vehicle fled and struck a bridge median. The driver, Wortham, was taken into custody after a foot pursuit. Inside the Jaguar, officers found a loaded sawed-off Coast To Coast Master-Mag 20-gauge shotgun with the serial number filed off.
Also in the vehicle was a woman identified as T.J., who was released from the scene. According to the affidavit, T.J. later arrived at the Central Patrol Division in Kansas City, Mo., to report that she and her roommate, identified as Y.C., were crime victims. She told police that they had been carjacked and that two unidentified men had kidnapped them and forced them to drive around in her roommate’s car, a red 2009 Toyota Camry. She also told police officers there was a third kidnapping victim, identified as M.M. She stated that Y.C. and M.M. were forced to ride with the other two men in Y.C.’s Toyota while T.J. was forced to ride with Wortham in the stolen Jaguar.
T.J. did not mention the kidnapping to police officers at the time of Wortham’s arrest, she said, because Wortham and the other two men had threatened to harm the other girls if anyone spoke to the police. She believed the other two men were watching as Wortham was apprehended and the other two victims’ lives were in danger. T.J. went home after she left the crash scene to check and see if Y.C. was home. When she arrived home and Y.C. was still missing, T.J. contacted the police department to report the carjacking, robbery and kidnapping.
According to the affidavit, T.J. and Y.C. were approached by two unknown men while they were depositing their paychecks at an ATM at about 2 a.m. Saturday, April 9, 2016. One of the men walked up to the driver’s side, grabbed Y.C. and demanded her money. The other man approached the passenger side door and pointed a shotgun at T.J. He forced T.J. into the backseat of the Camry and got into the vehicle. The first man forced Y.C. into the passenger seat as he got into the driver’s seat.
While the second man held the shotgun, the affidavit says, the first man demanded the women’s money, ATM cards and bags. He drove the Camry, with the two women still in the vehicle, to an apartment complex in Kansas City, Kan. They allegedly met Wortham, who was driving the Jaguar he had stolen earlier. Wortham and the third victim, M.M. (who had been in the Jaguar) forced the women to withdraw money from ATMs and robbed them of their valuables.
Related Federal Cases
- KC Four Held for Gunpoint Kidnapping of Two · Kansas
- Honduran National Admits to Brutal Cross-State Rape & Kidnapping · Kansas
- KCK Man Gets 20-Year Sentence for Illegal Firearm, Pot · Kansas
- Roberson Hit with Arson, Fraud Counts in Fatal Fire Plot · Kansas
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Violent Crime|Kidnapping|Armed Robbery
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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