KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Overland Park, Kansas, man pleaded guilty Wednesday to five business robberies in Kansas City, Missouri.
Joshua West, 28, also pleaded guilty to two counts of brandishing a firearm, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Kansas City, Missouri.
West's crime spree began on July 17, 2018, when he robbed a CVS Pharmacy at East 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.
West went behind the counter and grabbed money from the cash register.
A tipster told police West was the man in a surveillance photo from the CVS robbery.
West struck again about a month later when he robbed a Sprint Store at 4902 North Oak Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri.
The release states West had a gun and forced a store employee to open locked cabinets behind the counter.
West took all the iPhones, Apple Watches and Samsung S-9 phones.
His next target was the Phone Shack at 6932 Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.
He went into the Phone Shack the day after the Sprint Store robbery, the release states.
This time, West used a gun to make 2 employees get on the ground and he stole phones and cash from the store.
The manager of a T-Mobile store sent West's picture on August 15, 2018, to all managers of T-Mobile stores in the metro area, the release states.
The distribution of the picture worked the same day it was sent out.
The manager of a T-Mobile store in Grandview, Missouri, saw West in the store's parking lot and locked the store's door, the release states.
West tried, but did not get inside the store.
He pointed a gun at the manager, but left quickly.
West's next stop was an AT&T Store close to the T-Mobile store in Grandview, Missouri.
He used a gun to force store employees to give him all the store's iPhones, according to the release.
West took 2 store employees and a customer to a back room.
A customer in the store's main showroom escaped and called 911.
Two Grandview, Missouri, police officers were in the main showroom when West, with a plastic bag filled with cell phones, walked into the room, the release states.
A locked door prevented West's escape through a back room.
West ignored the officer's orders to get on the ground and instead fought with them, the release states.
A 9mm pistol popped out of West's waistband during the fight.
West could be sentenced to up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each robbery charge.
He also faces up to a life sentence in federal prison on the 2 firearms charges.
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