Terry K. Rayford, Jimmy Johns Armed Robbery, MO 2017

Armed and desperate, Terry K. Rayford, 54, of Kansas City, Mo., stormed into a Jimmy John’s on Broadway Blvd. on April 26, 2017, waving a .45-caliber handgun and grabbing cash before vanishing into the urban sprawl. But that was just one act in a crime spree that culminated in a carjacking and a high-stakes showdown with law enforcement the following day.

Rayford pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of armed robbery, one count of carjacking, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Garrison announced the plea, which was entered before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs. The charges stem from two violent incidents on the same day — the robbery of the Jimmy John’s at 3900 Broadway Blvd. and the violent theft of a 1998 Ford Econoline E350 van from another victim.

During both crimes, Rayford was armed. He brandished a Witness-P .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun during the sandwich shop heist and carried both that weapon and a Jimenez 9mm semi-automatic handgun during the carjacking. Both firearms were later recovered by Independence police after a tip from a retired Kansas City police major who recognized Rayford from surveillance footage aired on local news.

Officers pulled Rayford over near 40 Highway and Crysler in Independence on April 27, 2017. When ordered out of his vehicle, they spotted the .45 on the driver’s side floorboard. The 9mm was found during an inventory search, stuffed in the back pouch of the front passenger seat. Rayford, already on parole, was arrested immediately.

Rayford has 13 prior felony convictions for robbery. He admitted to investigators that he stole both guns from his crack cocaine supplier, to whom he owed money. Even more chilling, he confessed that he committed the crimes to violate his parole — saying he couldn’t handle the restrictions and wanted to return to prison to finish his sentence behind bars.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Rayford faces a minimum of 20 years and up to 30 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole. A sentencing date will be set after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford and investigated by the Kansas City Police Department, Independence Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.