KC teen suspected of robbing 35 businesses before recent arrest: Court documents

Police believe that a Kansas City teen charged this week in six armed robberies may have been responsible for more than 35 business robberies in the Kansas City area since December 2023.

Manyiuel Edoon Caldwell, 18, was charged Thursday with robbery and armed criminal actions for his role in armed robberies at six Kansas City businesses between July 4 and July 7, 2024, according to court records.

Though Caldwell was allegedly filmed using multiple weapons, many of the robberies were carried out through the use of an AK-style rifle with wood on the barrel, according to court documents. In one instance on July 5, Caldwell allegedly held up three Kansas City businesses in the same night using both the wood-paneled rifle and a black handgun, according to court documents.

The affected businesses have not been publicly named.

Several business employees interviewed by police indicated that Caldwell and his accomplices fled their store in a dark blue Kia sedan with a missing door handle, according to court documents. When a matching vehicle was recovered, several blue rubber gloves found in the car were swabbed for DNA, court records read, which was ultimately a match with DNA samples taken from Caldwell’s inner cheek.

Police detectives identified Caldwell after reviewing surveillance footage from the six businesses, according to court documents. After obtaining a search warrant for Caldwell’s house, police found clothes matching those worn by the figure shown on surveillance cameras during the robberies.

They also found an AK-style rifle with wood on the barrel at Caldwell’s home, matching the weapon allegedly used in the robberies, according to court documents.

Caldwell is either a suspect or has been charged in 29 additional armed business robberies in the last 11 months. These include a July 17 charge of robbery and unlawful use of a weapon after Caldwell allegedly stole $500 at gunpoint from one Kansas City shop, according to court records. He is also suspected of robbing a Kansas City home within the past several months, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Caldwell is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center, where he is not eligible for bond. He will next appear in Jackson County court on October 30 at 2:30 p.m. for a bond review hearing.