The man who robbed Platte City’s Casey’s General Store in May 2018 has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Andrea Williams
Andrea Williams, 60, of Leavenworth, Kan. pleaded guilty to attempted robbery last month for the incident that occurred at about 4 a.m. Saturday, May 19, 2018. As of press time, Williams was still in custody at the Platte County Detention Center, soon to be transferred to the Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. Williams was charged with first-degree robbery in 2018, but accepted the plea agreement in December 2019 after about a year in custody.
Platte City police responded to Casey’s on Highway 92 just after the robbery. According to court documents, the clerk on duty told police an older black male entered the store and approached the register while holding something under his shirt. The suspect pointed the object at him and demanded the money, twice. When the clerk complied and gave the suspect about $250 from the register, the suspect left the store and got into a black SUV, which fled westbound on Hwy. 92.
The entire incident was recorded on the store video surveillance system, with stills released to the media. A witness identified Williams to police after seeing the report.
The store clerk was able to identify Williams, who is known to Leavenworth police, and said while he wasn’t sure Williams had a gun, the incident frightened him nonetheless.
Officers interviewed Williams at his home on Thursday, May 24, and he admitted he’d been in the store that night. Williams claimed he was trying to get change for a $100 bill and was racially profiled by the clerk.
Williams said he gave the clerk his cash, received change and left. The item in his hand was his phone, and his hand was only under his shirt when he pulled up his pants. The surveillance video did not corroborate this version of events, according to the police report.