Zachary Kemple and Marqus Wilson
Two men accused of firing a shot into the ceiling of the Prairie View Road Waffle House during a robbery in October have been charged with felony armed robbery.
Zachary Kemple, 23, and Marqus Wilson, 19, remain in custody on $200,000 cash-only bonds. Both have appearances scheduled in Platte County Circuit Court in early January. A request for reduction of bond for Wilson has been denied. Kemple is also charged with armed robbery in Clay County.
According to court documents, Kansas City police were notified of an armed robbery at the KCI Airport-area Waffle House at around 3 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30. Two suspects — one armed with a knife and one with a gun — demanded cash and fired one shot inside the restaurant. They stole $240 in cash and fled the scene. The knife was later recovered in North Kansas City. Two employees witnessed the crime and were shown several line-ups of suspects before identifying Wilson, who was detained in November.
Wilson admitted he wielded a knife during the robbery, but said he received no money for the crime. Wilson identified Kemple as the gunman. Witnesses were then able to identify Kemple in a line-up once his photo was provided.
Kemple was captured in late November and admitted to the crime, telling police he had provided the knife to Wilson. Once inside the restaurant, Kemple said Wilson started acting crazy and jumped up on a booth. Kemple claimed an employee told him to shoot her and so he fired the gun, but pointed it away from the female employee. He said he and Wilson split the money and he had used his portion to pay off a debt owed to a drug dealer.