A Parsons man accused of robbing a convenience store at gunpoint pleaded to a lesser charge this week and is facing a prison term.
Travis W. Wolverton, 33, was charged in Labette County District Court with aggravated robbery, a high-level felony, aggravated assault, criminal discharge of a firearm, aggravated escape from custody, criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and criminal threat, all lower-level felonies, and criminal use of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
On Wednesday, Wolverton pleaded guilty to two amended charges of aggravated battery, both lower level felonies. He faces 47 months in prison on the charges if they are served back to back given his criminal history.
Sentencing will be Aug. 20 if Wolverton is still in a position to return to Labette County. He has cases pending in three other counties, two in Kansas, and he wanted to appear in Johnson County District Court on charges pending there so he can get an attorney appointed.
To that end, Judge Steve A. Stockard agreed to release Wolverton on his own recognizance on the Labette County cases to allow another jurisdiction to transfer him to its court. He will remain in custody because of pending warrants from the other jurisdictions. A status hearing is set for June 27 to see how that process is progressing.
Wolverton was accused of robbing Pete’s, 1430 Main, just before 5 a.m. on April 6, 2024.
Parsons police responding to the call heard that a white male, concealing his identity under a face mask, entered the store wielding a semi-automatic pistol. The man demanded that the clerk open the cash register. When the clerk couldn’t comply, the man discharged a single round from the firearm into the cash register, according to a release from Parsons police.
During the robbery, the man grabbed lottery tickets, Marlboro Red and Newport cigarettes and the clerk’s purse. He placed these items in a white 13-gallon trash can and ran off, police said.
On April 11, 2024, Parsons police arrested Wolverton on suspicion of possessing stolen property related to the robbery. After police handcuffed Wolverton, he ran a short distance before police subdued him. Wolverton reported that he had been injured before his arrest and was taken to the hospital for treatment. He didn’t return to law enforcement custody until Sept. 7, 2024.
Wolverton also faces an attempted robbery charge in Clay County, Missouri, and a drug possession charge in Wabaunsee County.
The Missouri case results from an attempted robbery at a Sutherland’s store in Liberty, Missouri, on Sept. 2, 2024, days before he was arrested on the Labette County case. Wolverton placed various tools in a shopping cart that day and rammed the cart into an exit door in the garden center in an unsuccessful attempt to leave the store, according to a complaint filed in Clay County, Missouri. Wolverton then pushed the cart toward the front of the store. Employees confronted him and Wolverton allegedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at one of the employees, according to an affidavit filed in the case, which cited witnesses and the store security video. Wolverton then ran out of the business without the shopping cart of goods.
Wolverton got into the driver’s seat of a minivan that had someone in the passenger seat. The van was registered to Cross-Roads Restoration in Topeka, according to the affidavit.
CrossRoads, according to its web page, offers housing, training and restoration for at-risk youth and adults. When Liberty police sent out a be on the lookout message, police departments in Kansas City, Missouri, Merriam, Lenexa and Olathe responded and reported the attempted robbery suspect could be Wolverton.
Wolverton recently requested a public defender on the Missouri case. No court date is listed in the electronic case file.
He’s charged with burglary, theft and criminal damage to property in Johnson County for an incident that happened on Sept. 6, 2024.
