Lynnwood teen sentenced for armed robbery at Everett pot store

Published 5:46 pm Saturday, December 19, 2015

EVERETT — A Lynnwood boy could spend the rest of this teenage years locked behind bars for an armed robbery at a marijuana dispensary.

A judge on Monday sentenced Garrett Comer to nearly 3½ years in prison for a heist at a south Everett marijuana business. Comer turned 17 last month.

The teen pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and faced up to 4½ years in prison. He was convicted as an adult, but Comer may be allowed to spend his sentence at a state juvenile lockup.

A second man, Bradford Johnson, 18, also is charged with first-degree robbery in connection with the armed heist. He is scheduled to go to trial in April.

Prosecutors allege that Johnson pointed a gun at a clerk’s face before ordering him to the ground. The Sept. 28 robbery was videotaped by a high-quality surveillance system.

The video shows the two suspects loading up cardboard boxes with multiple jars of marijuana and taking money from the cash register, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Halley Hupp wrote in charging papers. The business estimated that up to $10,000 was taken.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies released portions of the surveillance video to media in an attempt to identify the suspects. A woman came forward saying she recognized Comer as one of the robbers.

Detectives attempted to interview him a few days later. Comer’s mother told the teen to “shut the (expletive) up” when he began to offer up information. She asked for a lawyer and Comer was released.

Detectives arrested the teen the next day after viewing his Facebook account. He was making threats to commit another robbery so he could give money to his mom, Hupp wrote.

While sitting in a patrol car Comer told police he held up the marijuana store so he could pay his court fines. He was 16 at the time of the heist.

Johnson was arrested about two weeks later after a witness identified him as the second hold-up man. Detectives were told he is a marijuana dealer and already has sold off the marijuana taken in the robbery, Hupp wrote.

Detectives used social media again and pulled up Johnson’s picture. The photographs matched the man seen in the surveillance video, according to charging papers. The clerk also identified him as the suspected who pointed the gun at him.

Johnson was being held on $500,000 bail.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.