Everett teen faces adult charges for robbery

Published 1:30 am Monday, January 9, 2017

LAKE STEVENS — A 16-year-old Everett boy is charged in adult court with robbery. He is accused of using a gun to steal designer jeans in one case and Nike shoes in another.

Lake Stevens police allege the boy was among a group of young people who at gunpoint took cellphones, backpacks and even a pair of jeans from three high-schoolers Sept. 23.

The victims were hanging out on a Friday night, eating food behind the Frontier Village Safeway. About eight people were in the group that approached them, though some stayed in the background, according to police.

One of the victims was forced to turn over his True Religion jeans, court papers show. His belt was forcibly removed. More than one gun was pointed at him while he disrobed, and a gun was pushed against his head. He was left standing in his underwear.

Some of the victims recognized suspects from school. The victims and police used social media to identify others from the group, detective Jerad Wachtveitl said.

The 16-year-old suspect has since posted $500 bail. At least one of the other young men in the group also was charged.

The 16-year-old is suspected of another robbery in Marysville on Aug. 31. In that case, he allegedly met up with a man to buy two pairs of Nike Air Jordans. The shoes were listed on a classifieds website, Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

The boy reportedly took the shoes from the victim and lifted his shirt, revealing a handgun in his waistband.

“He made the comment, ‘This is how this is going down,’” Lamoureux said.

The victim told the detective that “he didn’t feel two pairs of shoes were worth potentially getting shot over,” Lamoureux said.

The Marysville case has been forwarded to prosecutors for review. Police are recommending first-degree robbery charges in juvenile court.

The 16-year-old has no criminal convictions. He claims that he used a fake gun in the Lake Stevens incident.

The other boy, who remains in juvenile detention, denied being armed. He has a previous assault case, and he had a warrant at the time of the robbery. After their arrests, he allegedly sent his co-defendant a picture of himself holding a gun. The message said, “better not be snitching.”

Trials on the Lake Stevens charges are scheduled for the boys in March.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.