OTTAWA — Two men are in the Franklin County jail and a Wal-Mart SuperCenter employee received a minor injury in connection with a bungled robbery late Sunday night. Two suspects grabbed two televisions from the store and tried unsuccessfully to load the televisions into a vehicle and leave the parking lot, Police Capt. Adam Weingartner. The employee, Sandy Humphrey, 48, Ottawa; tried to stop the two and their vehicle ran over her foot. She refused medical treatment. The vehicle raced south on Princeton, when it struck a vehicle driven by Darren Lyons, 29, Ottawa; in front of McDonald’s in the 2200 block of South Princeton, Weingartner said. Officers pursued as the vehicle turned north onto I-35. The car’s engine blew up or malfunctioned it rolled to a stop as officers closed in, he said. As the car slowed to about 20 miles an hour, the passenger leaped out and ran into a neighboring field, Weingartner said. The man was caught by a Franklin County deputy in the field. The driver drove the vehicle into a ditch, where he was captured by an Ottawa police officer, Weingartner said. Rayford Reed, 51, Paola; and Jarrod Harris, 28, Overland Park; were booked into the jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery and obstructing the legal process.
Monday, Oct. 22, 1 p.m.
