EVERETT — A man acquitted of murder in 2010 was arrested Tuesday for investigation of robbery in a 2013 Edmonds pharmacy holdup.
The robbery occurred at a Bartell Drugs shortly before closing last September. A man in an orange brim baseball cap, dark hooded jacket and wearing a red bandana over his face demanded OxyContin and syrups with codeine in them. He also took more than $850 in cash.
Police believe Michael Mitchell, 25, was the masked man. He allegedly led employees to believe he could be armed by keeping one hand in his jacket pocket as he yelled at them to hurry. He was arrested at a state Department of Corrections office in Bellevue.
In 2010, Mitchell was armed during a confrontation outside a Lynnwood-area apartment building after a fight between two women spiralled out of control. Jurors sided with Mitchell when he told them that he was defending a friend who was being assaulted by Armond Davidson, 22. During the trial, Mitchell said Davidson made motions that led him to believe he had a gun. The other man was fatally shot while Mitchell was hitting him with the gun and the weapon discharged.
In the case of the pharmacy holdup, detectives believe a store employee provided information that aided the robber, prosecutors alleged in court papers.
A search warrant turned up text messages between Mitchell and the employee who allegedly wrote “no one in back” and “empty though, just us” just minutes before the robbery. The employee has been arrested, too.
Detectives from Edmonds and other agencies are continuing investigations to determine if the pair might have been involved in similar robberies at other pharmacies and businesses in Snohomish and north King counties, Edmonds police Sgt. Mark Marsh said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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