Man who stole from multiple Kansas Sonics found guilty
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A man who investigators say has stolen bank bags filled with cash from multiple Sonic Drive-In’s throughout Kansas in the Kansas City area has been found guilty of theft in Leavenworth County.
The Leavenworth County district attorney says Patrick Best pled no contest to a count of theft of property. The judge accepted the plea and found Best guilty.
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According to court records, Best has pled in multiple criminal cases this year where he committed burglary at a Sonic.
The first incident was in January in Wyandotte County where Best pled guilty to burglary. The second burglary took place in May in Johnson County, where he pled guilty to burglary and theft and the third was in August in Douglas County. He pled no contest to burglary.
On April 17, 2022, Gardner police stopped Best while he was driving a van. During the search of the van, officers found Sonic bags, a DVR, a Sonic cash register drawer, keys belonging to a Lawrence, Kansas, Sonic and tools that could be used during a burglary.
Officers expanded their investigation into Best after the search of his vehicle.
On April 16, a day before he was stopped, an employee at a Tonganoxie Drive-In reported that someone broke into the restaurant through the front door.
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Once they got inside, the suspect took two money bags collective containing $6,300. A surveillance video showed the vehicle Best was stopped in.
The DVR and bank bags belonged to the Sonic in Tonganoxie.
Best is scheduled for sentencing on November 8.
