- NEWS RELEASE -

Date: February 2, 2006

Subject: Robber's wig will not disguise prison term

A man who donned a wig before he robbed a Northland liquor store and a Parkville restaurant within 30 minutes has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Jesse A. Donovan, 25, of Riverside, received the prison term February 2 for robbing a Berbiglia Wine and Spirits store in Kansas City and the Power Plant Restaurant and Brewery in Parkville on May 1, 2005.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said, “Apparently, this defendant thought disguising himself with an old wig would allow him to get away with these crimes. But when Parkville police found him with that wig, it helped prove rather than conceal his identity.”

According to Zahnd, at about 8:00 p.m. on May 1, 2005, Donovan robbed the Berbiglia Wine and Spirits store at 7751 NW Prairie View Road. He was wearing a wig and approached the clerk with a bottle of whiskey.

When the clerk asked for identification, Donovan pulled a knife and demanded money. The clerk ran out of the store and saw Donovan flee a short time later

Zahnd said, Donovan approached the hostess at the Power Plant Restaurant and Brewery in Parkville about a half hour later at about 8:30 p.m. He was wearing the same wig and pulled a knife from the front pocket of a red hooded sweatshirt.

The hostess took Donovan to the bar, where he again brandished the knife. A restaurant manager gave Donovan money from the cash register. Witnesses saw Donovan leave the scene in a red getaway car.

Donovan was arrested a short time later, when a Parkville police officer saw a red car on the walking trail in English Landing Park. Donovan was the passenger in the car. The officer found the wig in the vehicle and also found a knife in the pocket of Donovan’s red hooded sweatshirt.

Zahnd said, “Choosing a getaway route that included driving down the walking trail of a public park was the last in a series of bad decisions by this defendant. He says he committed these crimes because he was high and needed money for more drugs. To those who say drug use is a ‘victimless crime,’ I point to this man and hundreds others who chose to lead a life of crime because they got hooked on illegal drugs.”

Donovan pled guilty to two counts of first degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action on November 3, 2005. He was sentenced to 10 years on the robbery charges and four years for armed criminal action.

Prosecutors have also charged the man they allege was the getaway driver for the two crimes. Dennis E. Meers, 26, of Riverside, faces two counts of first degree robbery and armed criminal action. His case is scheduled for trial March 13, 2006.

The case was investigated by the Parkville and Kansas City, Missouri Police Departments.

The charges against Meers are merely accusations, and Meers is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.