Tuesday, November 12, 2013

KCK man sentenced to 10 years for armed robbery, carjacking

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kan., man has been sentenced to 10 years on a federal charge arising from a carjacking and armed robbery, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Terry D. Tillman, 26, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking.

In his plea, he admitted that on May 26, 2013, he and three co-defendants walked to a Stop Shop gas station at 6865 State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan., where co-defendant Derrick Freeman suggested they “get a car.”

While co-defendant Anthony Irvin held the driver of a 2004 Ford Freestar minivan at gunpoint, Tillman and Freeman robbed the driver of wallet and keys. The defendants drove away in the minivan, with Tillman riding in a rear passenger seat.

When the defendants realized officers had spotted their vehicle they led police on a 17-minute chase at speeds up to 112 miles per hour.

The minivan wrecked in a plowed field near Leavenworth Road and North 184th Street in Basehor, Kan., where the defendants fled on foot. Freeman fired a handgun at a law enforcement officer before being arrested. Tillman was arrested about 100 yards from the vehicle.

Co-defendants include:
  • Derrick Freeman, 28, Kansas City, Kan., who is awaiting sentencing.
  • Anthony L. Irvin, 19, Kansas City, Kan., who is set for sentencing Nov. 25.
  • Melvin L. Shields, 20, Kansas City, Kan., who is set for sentencing Nov. 25.
  • Joe Freeman, 33, Kansas City, Kan., who is set for trial Jan. 21.
  • Jeffrey B. Jackson, 47, Leavenworth, Kan., who is awaiting trial.
Grissom commended the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Basehor Police Department, the Edwardsville Police Department, the Bonner Springs Police Department, the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Department and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Tomasic and Trent Krug for their work on the case.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.