Couple In Their 80s Are Held At Gunpoint By Police After They Mistake Their Vehicle For Another

An elderly couple was mistakenly pulled over and held at gunpoint by Raymore police when they were taking their son’s truck to run errands and update its registration. Video of the incident, recorded by the passenger Jewel Wilson, went viral after her granddaughter posted it on TikTok. Joshua Wilson, the couple’s son, said he lent the office truck to one of his employees, who took it to a Fourth of July party. The employee reported the vehicle stolen July 3 in Raytown after he wasn’t able to find it the next morning. A few days later, the truck was found and returned to the employee.

The truck hadn’t been removed from the stolen vehicle registry because it was recovered around 5:30 a.m. on July 5, when the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office takes over coverage for the department to help with staffing shortages, said Mallory Harrison, a spokeswoman with the Raytown Police Department. There was a miscommunication during the shift change between the sheriff’s office and Raytown police, and the vehicle was not removed from the registry, Harrison said.

But the Wilsons didn’t know that the truck was never removed from the stolen vehicle registry. John and Jewel Wilson of Belton took their son’s car to get new registration and run some errands on Aug. 18. They were returning when about nine or 10 police officers pulled the vehicle over. Seeing some of the officers pull out their guns, John Wilson, 73, told his wife to call their son Joshua, an attorney in the area. Officers told John Wilson to leave the truck. He had difficulty following their directions to open the car door with his right hand and walk backwards because of several surgeries on his knee and back, he said.