Two men in a car pulled over for speeding in Pleasant Valley had some explaining to do when another motorist stopped to say they had just robbed him.
Russell A. Gordon, 32, of Jefferson City, and Jermaine M. Burnett, 22, of Columbia, are accused of stealing a 2.73-carat diamond ring during a Craigslist sale, authorities said Sunday.
The incident started over the weekend when a man went to meet someone he thought wanted to buy the ring for $3,500.
When the seller showed up at a Wal-Mart parking lot where the sale was supposed to occur, he found two men, one brandishing a pistol, according to court documents. The men allegedly snatched the ring and the seller's cellphone and fled in a Pontiac.
The seller, who was not identified in the court record, pursued the two in his own vehicle.
The Pontiac was traveling 72 mph in a 35-mph zone when a Pleasant Valley police officer stopped the car. The alleged victim then pulled behind the officer and said the men in the Pontiac had just taken his diamond ring and phone.
A canine unit searched the route. Authorities said they found a gun along the road but no ring or phone.
Gordon and Burnett were charged with robbery and armed criminal action.
Copyright 2013 - The Kansas City Star
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
