Charge is filed in botched robbery of Tulalip liquor store

Published 10:52 pm Monday, July 13, 2009

TULALIP — The alleged mastermind behind a botched robbery at the Quil Ceda Village liquor store not only left the loot behind, he left his fingerprints.

The Everett man, 22, and his three sidekicks left investigators one other souvenir — a videotape of the entire incident.

Prosecutors late last week charged the Everett man with first-degree robbery. Another man, who is a tribal member, was indicted in federal court and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

Two other men implicated in the 2007 robbery have not been charged.

The Everett man is accused of hatching the plan to steal the store’s cash and recruiting his roommate, his brother in-law and a friend, who once worked at the store and was familiar with the money-handling procedures.

The plan was for three men to enter the store, intimidate the employees and steal the day’s proceeds, court records said. A fourth man planned to drive the getaway car.

The robbers donned sunglasses and bandannas and armed themselves with a shotgun, pistol and a pellet gun. The driver parked on the southbound offramp from I-5.

The trio approached the store and pressed the back door buzzer.

That’s when the plan fell apart.

Two women were inside tallying the day’s receipts. One answered the back door. The man with the pistol hit her but she fought back.

She forced her attacker outside with her and the door locked behind them.

He ran for the car. She ran for police.

The getaway driver and the pistol-wielding robber sped off.

The two remaining robbers forced the other employee to the ground and demanded money. The ringleader scooped up the cash, more than $8,000, and shoved the loot in a plastic trash bag.

The two men ran for the car.

Once the men realized their getaway car was gone, they ran for a nearby wooded area.

The Everett man dropped the cash. He left behind a fingerprint on the bag, prosecutors said.

Police arrived shortly after the men’s retreat. Officers found clothing, a pellet gun and $8,469.

They also had a videotape of the incident.

Five months later, an anonymous tip led them to the men. One man, the driver, confessed to taking part in the robbery, court records said. The Everett man told police he knew the robbers but denied being involved.

He couldn’t explain how his fingerprint came to be on the money bag.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.