by Ivan Foley
Landmark editor

A Kansas City, Kan. man has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty in a purse snatching incident at the Platte City McDonald’s last summer.

Javan W. Clayton, 21, entered the guilty plea in front of Judge Abe Shafer on Thursday.

He pled guilty to second degree robbery and to a felony charge of resisting arrest.

He was sentenced to six years on the robbery charge and three years on the charge of resisting arrest while causing a substantial risk of injury or death to another person.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

Clayton pled guilty to fleeing the scene in a dangerous manner after the purse-snatching in the parking lot of the McDonald’s in Platte City. Authorities say he narrowly missed running over a 72-year-old woman in the incident, which occurred on a Thursday afternoon in August.

Det. Al DeValkenaere with the Platte City Police Department said at approximately 2 p.m. an elderly woman from Kimberling City, which is near Branson, left her purse at the table with her husband.

As she approached the McDonald's counter to order another item, a man who was accompanied by another male, 18 years old, and a minor, 16 years old, allegedly grabbed her purse and ran out of the store.

The victim and her husband ran outside in an effort to recover the purse. The victim got caught between the passenger door of the suspect's vehicle and another vehicle. She was struck by the car door as the suspect reversed from the parking spot and fled the scene.

A Platte City police officer observed the vehicle heading westbound near the 500 block of 92 Highway. The driver, who was Clayton, ran the red light at the intersection of 4th and 92 Highway.

The officer gave chase until the engine of the suspect's vehicle locked up near Hwy. 273 and I-29.

All three suspects were taken into custody.

The victim sustained severe lacerations to her foot, knee, and elbow. After being treated for her injuries, she was released from the hospital.

Clayton remained in custody in the Platte County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash-only bond until his sentencing to state prison. His public defender had filed a motion for a bond reduction but it had been denied by the court.

Earlier last August, Clayton was charged in Jackson County with possessing up to 35 grams of marijuana, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, and operating a motor vehicle on a highway without a valid driver's license.