KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to an armed robbery of a Jimmy John’s restaurant and a carjacking.
Terry Rayford, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery, one count of carjacking, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri said the charges stem from two incidents that happened on April 26, 2017. Rayford had a handgun when he robbed a Jimmy John’s restaurant at 3900 Broadway Boulevard.
He was armed with two handguns when he carjacked a van earlier the same day, according to the release.
According to the news release, a retired KCPD major saw video of the robbery on the news and saw Rayford, who appeared to be the robbery suspect, driving in Independence. The retired major reported this to police, and Independence police officers stopped Rayford’s vehicle.
The news release said when they ordered Rayford to get out, officers found a handgun on the driver’s side floorboard. Rayford was arrested, and the vehicle was towed. During an inventory, another handgun was found in the back pouch of the front passenger seat.
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Rayford told investigators he stole both handguns from his crack cocaine source, to whom he owed money. The news release said Rayford told investigators he violated his parole so he could go back to prison and do the remaining time of his sentence because his parole conditions were hard to follow.
Rayford has 13 felony convictions for robbery, and he was on parole at the time of the thefts.
Under the terms of Thursday’s plea agreement, Rayford will be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a maximum of 30 years. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after an investigation by the United States Probation Office.
