By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
Their favorite move is "Natural Born Killers," a flick glamorizing a violent crime spree of two twisted young lovers, according to prosecutors.
But the 1994 movie didn’t feature any scenes of a Starbucks store robbery where one character serves coffee to unsuspecting customers.
That’s what David Michael Williams Jr. and his girlfriend, Trina Della Petrycki, are accused of by prosecutors. They were formally charged Friday with first-degree robbery for Tuesday’s heist of a Starbucks coffee store in Monroe.
Two people entered the Starbucks early in the morning, took over the store, terrorized employees and made off with about $3,400. Williams, 21, from Everett, and Petrycki, 24, of Gold Bar, were arrested 15 hours after the robbery.
Petrycki is a former employee of Starbucks who was recognized by some of the workers, according to charging papers filed by deputy prosecutor Mark Roe.
During the heist, Petrycki repeatedly threatened current employees and their families with death if they gave police descriptions of the couple, Roe added.
The robbery started around 5 a.m. when Petrycki came into the store and began talking to an employee she knew. She ordered a drink, and she and Williams ordered a pastry to split, papers said. When the employee asked them to pay, Williams pointed a pistol at one of the clerks, according to prosecutors.
Williams asked who knew how to get into the store safe, papers said.
The safe has a 10-minute timer, so the robber made one of the employees wait on customers. One, an off-duty police officer, later identified Williams, Roe wrote.
Two employees were held at gunpoint for 40 minutes or more by Petrycki while one worker waited on customers.
The robbers left after placing duct tape over the employees’ mouths.
When the pair were arrested, two .45-caliber pistols were found in their car. Zip ties and other evidence connected to Starbucks were found at a residence.
Roe said the couple’s landlord told police the couple watches the movie "Natural Born Killers" over and over again.
Roe said additional charges of kidnapping and intimidating a witness are possible. The defendants were being held on $100,000 bail. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
Williams has three previous felony convictions, two for assault, Roe said.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447 or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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