Edward K. Thomas.
A KCK man has been charged with a series of armed robberies, two of them in the Westport area.
Jackson County prosecutors announced three counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of armed criminal action against Edward K. Thomas, 53.
According to court records:
On Dec. 23, Thomas went into Cupini’s restaurant in Westport, pistol whipped the owner, choked him, stomped him and took his money.
At one point, he used his teeth to remove a rubber band from around the victim’s wallet and then spit it on the floor. DNA from the rubber band matched Thomas.
On Aug. 22, he robbed a man at a business at 110 West 19th St. of his cash and cell phone and then drove away in the victim’s car.
During that robbery, he slammed the victim into a file cabinet and shoved him to the floor. Then he threatened to shoot him, tied his arms with a necktie, shut him in a back room and barricaded the door.
The victim freed himself and walked out another door to the room in time to see Thomas drive off in the victim’s Honda.
On July 10, he robbed the Huddle House at 3959 Broadway. There he pulled a gun on a clerk, took cash from the register and put the clerk and another victim into the freezer.
The victims could not identify Thomas but detectives showed Thomas’ mother some surveillance photographs from the robbery.
She confirmed they were pictures of her son.
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