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A clerk at the north Smithville Conoco and her friend planned a $1,000 robbery of the Conoco store last Tuesday, Oct. 6, according to Smithville police.

The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office charged the clerk, Kori Edwards, 20, of Smithville and Cody Routon, 22, of Trimble with felony stealing on Friday, Oct. 9, in connection with the robbery.

At about 7:45 p.m. Oct. 6, police found out that the convenience store, off U.S. Highway 169 in north Smithville, had been robbed.

Edwards reported that a masked gunman held up the store, forcing her to hand over the $1,000 in cash that was in the store, Police Chief Ken Wilson said.

Smithville police, with assistance from agencies including the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Clay and Clinton counties sheriff departments, reviewed the surveillance video footage, interviewed Edwards, tracked down Routon and concluded that Edwards and Routon worked together to fake the robbery.

“The whole thing wasn’t falling together like a real armed robbery would have,” Wilson said.

Conoco store policy limits cash in the drawer to $350, Smithville detective Jerry Johnson said; the higher than usual amount of money in the store was one of many red flags for police.

The two split the $1,000, Routon told Johnson, according to Johnson.

By Thursday, Oct. 8, Routon had spent about $300 of his share on a cell phone bill and a shot gun from a St. Joseph pawn shop, Johnson said.

Routon and Edwards were arrested Oct. 8.

Business owners throughout Smithville panicked when they first heard about the robbery.

“I had business owners asking me if they needed to go out and get guns to protect themselves,” Wilson said. “This is a serious issue. We got a lot of people involved in this. And all the time, it was a hoax.”

Routon was employed as a housekeeper for Saint Luke’s Northland Hospital, Johnson said.

Wilson praised all law enforcement involved, including Smithville Police Sgt. Tony Roetman, who was first on the scene, and Johnson.

As of this past weekend, both Routon and Edwards were still being held on bond in the Clay County jail awaiting their first court appearances.

Smithville Editor Nancy Hull Rigdon can be reached at 532-4444 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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