Eight robberies in five months get Topeka man federal indictment

A five-month robbery spree that included several fast-food restaurants has landed a Topeka man in federal court.

Prosecutors say Joshua Alexander Musgraves pulled off eight Topeka- and Lawrence-area robberies between December and April. An indictment handed down Wednesday by a federal grand jury called to serve in the United States District Court in the District of Kansas charges him with 13 criminal counts, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

The robberies happened at:

▪ Denison State Bank, 3640 SW Fairlawn in Topeka, on Dec. 10

▪ A carjacking in Topeka on Dec. 10

▪ Plato’s Closet, 1580 S.W. Wanamaker in Topeka, on Jan. 6

▪ Kentucky Fried Chicken, 1812 NW Topeka in Topeka, on Jan. 20

▪ Burger King, 2817 SE California in Topeka, on March 23

▪ McDonalds, 1100 S. Kansas in Topeka, on March 30

▪ Subway restaurant, 1601 W. 23rd in Lawrence, on April 3

▪ Wing Stop, 2233 Louisiana in Lawrence, on April 4.

Musgraves, 24, is charged with six counts of robbery, five counts of brandishing a firearm and one count each of carjacking and bank robbery, Beall said. The various charges carry prison sentences of seven to 20 years upon conviction.

In other indictments:

▪ Arlie J. Barhum, 32, a Shawnee County Jail inmate, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm on March 21 in Topeka.

▪ Mark A. Richardson, 29, a Shawnee County Jail inmate, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm on April 7 in Topeka.

▪ Sandra Rodriguez-Ruiz, 36, of Laveen, Ariz., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin on March 25 in Ellsworth County.

▪ Jaiquan Jahai Wheeler, 20, who is in custody at an unspecified location, is charged with one count each of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction on March 14 in Shawnee County.

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Eight robberies in five months get Topeka man federal indictment."