EVERETT — A second arrest was made Tuesday in connection with an alleged armed robbery of an Everett marijuana store.
At around 11:40 p.m. Aug. 9, three masked men walked into The Joint Recreational & Medical Marijuana Dispensary at 9506 19th Ave. SE armed with guns, according to a police report. One of the men, a 22-year-old Seattle resident, had a rifle; another had a pistol.
The three men reportedly forced everyone to the floor. Employees and customers reported the men said something along the lines of “You’re going to die if you don’t do as we say,” according to police.
The two men with guns kept eyes on the people on the floor while the third suspect, a 22-year-old Kent man, filled bags with dispensary products, according to the police report. The armed men took cell phones from the people in the store so they couldn’t call 911.
The man with the pistol took one employee to the dispensary’s back office where he demanded the employee open the safe, police say. The worker reportedly complied.
He made the employee unplug the security camera feed, but it didn’t stop recording. Another of the men came into the office and took $15,000 in cash from the safe before the trio fled. Police dogs searched the area, but didn’t come up with much.
The security footage became the downfall of one of the suspects, the 22-year-old Kent man. An Everett officer who was recently hired from the Seattle Police Department reviewed the video and recognized the unarmed suspect from a previous robbery investigation, according to police.
The man had a dollar sign tattooed on the back of his right hand, near his thumb. The officer got a warrant to search the suspect’s phone records, and the information he found reportedly provided sufficient evidence to arrest the suspect last Thursday.
This man’s social media presence led police to the next suspect, a 22-year-old from Seattle, according to the police report. On Aug. 5, the Kent man posted a video to Facebook of sharks swimming through a group of fish. The fish all got out of the sharks’ way.
The clip was captioned “All you need is a solid team!” He tagged two of his friends on the post. One was the man arrested Tuesday.
Phone records showed the two 22-year-olds in matching places the night of the robbery. Everett police arrested the Seattle man Tuesday night for investigation of first-degree robbery. The other man tagged on the Facebook clip was ruled out as a suspect.
The two men arrested were both in custody at the Snohomish County Jail on Wednesday afternoon. The Kent man was held on $100,000 bail; the Seattle man on $50,000.
Everett detectives continue to investigate the robbery. Tips can be directed to police at 425-257-8450.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
