2 men arrested in Snohomish home invasion
Published 7:28 am Thursday, December 11, 2008
SNOHOMISH — The men suspected of a brazen home-invasion robbery last week in Snohomish allegedly laughed when they saw police sketches seeking information about the bandits, detectives say.
Police believe the pair barged into a Snohomish home last week and used zip ties to hold a widow captive for three hours while they ransacked her house.
One was arrested Monday night in Tacoma. The other was nabbed in Marysville on Tuesday.
Police believe the men, 40 and 31, were heavily armed Dec. 4 when they knocked at the door in the 9400 block of 163rd Avenue SE, a rural area between Monroe and Snohomish, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday in Everett District Court.
They had staked out the woman’s home for a week, and one of the men said he believed it would be a good “hit,” the document said.
Detectives with the Snohomish County sheriff’s major crime unit have been looking for the two since the widow, 54, struggled free from restraints and ran to a neighbor’s house in her pajamas to call 911.
The men were arrested after what police described as nearly simultaneous breaks in the case.
Late Monday, Tacoma police picked up Terry Lee Grant, 40, of Granite Falls during a traffic stop. Grant allegedly had dozens of the widow’s credit cards and other items taken from the Snohomish home, according to charging papers filed Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court.
Around the same time, one of Grant’s roommates, a 35-year-old woman, called 911. The woman described in detail to police information detectives say connects the men to the robbery.
Paul Michael Cast, 31, was arrested during a traffic stop Tuesday night.
The roommate told police that Grant and Cast came to the Granite Falls home she shared on Dec. 4 with a truck full of loot, the document said.
The two men were unloading the goods into the house when another roommate learned the property was stolen and told the two men to take their loot someplace else, the document said.
When asked how he’d come into possession of a truck full of TVs, computers, jewelry and other items, Grant allegedly had this explanation: “Merry Christmas.”
The woman went with the men to a Marysville hotel. She said Cast and Grant spent the night sorting through the property, according to police.
In the morning, when sketches of the two appeared in the newspaper, the men reportedly laughed about how their victim apparently mistook one of them for black. Both Grant and Cast are white.
Cast allegedly was wearing a spiky, black Halloween-style wig that looked like Sideshow Bob, a character from the cartoon show “The Simpsons.”
The men reportedly talked about how the victim’s husband recently died and didn’t leave much behind, the document said.
What items he did leave, the pair stole, police say. The bandits took the dead man’s wallet and knocked his framed obituary off the wall, the victim’s daughter said Friday.
The robbers also took TVs, stereos, cameras, two computers, an antique gun collection, financial documents, a Blue Nile diamond bracelet and other custom jewelry, watches, several purses, luggage, six women’s bikini bathing suits, a Seahawks Santa hat, check books, credit cards and more, the document said.
The men allegedly backed the widow’s pickup truck to the front door and loaded it full of her belongings. Police recovered her truck Friday in the Arlington area and impounded it.
Grant refused to talk to police. Cast denied taking part in the break-in. Detectives allege he changed his story during the interview.
Cast has seven adult felony convictions and 20 misdemeanors. His juvenile history dates back to when he was 16. He was awaiting sentencing on assault and possession of stolen property charges when the Snohomish home was robbed. He was booked into the county jail Tuesday night for investigation of first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary. An Everett District Court judge on Wednesday ordered Cast jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.
Grant remained locked up in Pierce County. He was charged Wednesday with three counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, three counts of possession of a stolen firearm and two counts of second-degree possession of stolen property.
Grant also has felony convictions, including first-degree robbery, according to court documents.
The investigation continues. Both men could face additional charges.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
