Two Wichita Men Charged
In Robbery at Kentucky Fried Chicken
WICHITA, KAN. – Two Wichita men are accused of robbing a Kentucky Fried Chicken and shooting at police in charges filed in federal court in Wichita, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
James L. Adamson, 49, Wichita, Kan., and Paul F. Sifuentez, 55, Wichita, Kan., are charged with one count of robbery and one count of using a firearm in a crime of violence.
An investigator’s affidavit alleges that on June 7 an employee at Kentucky Fried Chicken at 1251 S. Woodlawn saw the two men pull into the parking lot in a gray car. Sifuentez went into the store wearing a red bandana over his face and carrying a black handgun. He pointed the gun at a clerk and said: “Give me all the money and I won’t shoot you.” He took cash from the clerk and left the store.
Two Wichita police officers stopped the getaway car in the parking lot of the Woodlawn Baptist Church at 960 S. Woodlawn. When one of the officers was getting out of the squad car, she saw the passenger in the front seat lean out of the car window and point a handgun at her and the other officer. The passenger fired two or three shots at the officers, shattering the glass in the door of the squad car. The officer received cuts to her right hand and right arm from the broken glass.
The robbers drove away after the shots were fired, but officers wrote down the car’s personalized tag, “SAVOY,” which was registered to Adamson at an address in the 4400 block of east Boston.
Police recovered the abandoned car at the Governeour Manor apartment complex at 7025 E. Lincoln. They found Sifuentez at the apartment’s swimming pool and arrested him. Later, they arrested Adamson at his home on Boston.
If convicted, Sifuentez and Adamson face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the robbery charge. On the firearm charge, Adamson faces a mandatory penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. Sifuentez, who has a prior conviction, faces a mandatory penalty on the firearm charge of 25 years and a fine up to $250,000.
The Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Warner is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
