Man charged with stealing Liberty school bus

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man stole a Liberty school bus Tuesday evening but only made it to Independence before getting stopped by police.

Clay County prosecutors charged 50-year-old Randolph L. Schmidt, of St. James, Missouri, on Wednesday afternoon with second-degree burglary and stealing a motor vehicle.

Liberty Public Schools told KSHB 41 that an individual broke into the Support Services Building shortly after 7 p.m. to commandeer the bus.

The school district's safety team and Liberty police reviewed building camera footage and tracked the bus via its GPS.

Within an hour, Schmidt was stopped within Independence city limits.

Independence police said they received a call around 7:50 p.m. about a reckless driver in a school bus southbound on Missouri Route 291 from Kentucky Road. When officers located the bus at Hidden Valley Road and Bryn Mawr Street, it was abandoned.

Officers quickly found Schmidt and took him into custody.

A judge set Schmidt's bond at $75,000.

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