photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The T-Mobile store at 4801 Bauer Farm Drive is pictured on Feb. 3, 2023.

Two people have been indicted by the U.S. District Court in Kansas in connection with an armed robbery at a Lawrence cellphone store in which the robbers allegedly bound two employees in duct tape before taking more than 80 phones from a safe.

Darien Khalil Chambers, 29, was charged in Douglas County District Court with two felony counts of aggravated robbery with a handgun and two felony counts of kidnapping in connection with an armed robbery on April 2, 2022, at the T-Mobile store at 4801 Bauer Farm Drive, as the Journal-World reported. The jail booking log lists Chambers’ address in Lawrence, but police believe Chambers frequently travels from Lawrence to Illinois.

Chambers is alleged to have held two store employees at gunpoint before wrapping their hands, feet and mouths with duct tape and taking phones and money from the store’s safe. Lawrence police said they were able to identify and track Chambers’ vehicle through the city using traffic cameras.

Those Douglas County charges have been dismissed, and the federal indictment has taken their place. It includes one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to the indictment.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office told the Journal-World on Tuesday that it dismissed the charges when the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicated that it was interested in prosecuting the case.

Lawrence police arrested Chambers on Oct. 10, 2022. When he was arrested, police confiscated a handgun and more than $9,000 in cash, according to court records. He was released from Douglas County custody on a $30,000 cash or surety bond shortly after his arrest.

Witnesses told police that Chambers was working with a woman during the robbery, but Lawrence police were unable to identify the woman, according to an affidavit in support of Chambers’ arrest.

The indictment filed against Chambers, however, names 22-year-old Iveth Moreno as Chambers’ co-defendant. Court records indicate that Moreno was arrested in Chicago on Feb. 14. Moreno faces the same charges as Chambers.

Both Chambers and Moreno are out on bond. Chambers has been released to house arrest on a $50,000 bond, while Moreno is free on a $10,000 bond, according to court records. Both are scheduled to appear in court on June 1 for a status conference.