SNOHOMISH — Tuli Aumaunofo Kalani Tevaga believed robbing Asian-owned businesses would be “easy licks.”
In April 2022, the Sultan man walked into Diamond Massage Spa in Snohomish for a scheduled appointment. He asked an employee if he could use the “tap to pay” method for his service. The spa worker, who spoke broken English, told him they did not accept that form of payment, charging documents say.
Tevaga apologized for the inconvenience. Then he pulled out a handgun and demanded the employee’s money and cell phone.
“Please don’t shoot me,” she reportedly told him.
He took the money, and fled the scene.
The robbery was consistent with the robberies of several other Asian-owned spas across Snohomish, King and Pierce counties, police found.
On Friday, Tevaga, 24, pleaded guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court to three counts of first-degree robbery and one count of a hate crime. Judge Anna Alexander sentenced him to just under nine years in prison.
The week before, the defendant was also sentenced just under 3½ years for another robbery in King County.
He will serve both sentences concurrently.
Tevaga told investigators he intentionally targeted Asian-owned spas, believing the assumed lack of English proficiency would make for easy targets. Believing owners were engaging in “illegal activity” or sex work behind closed doors, he also said Asian-owned businesses were less likely to report the incidents to police, according to court documents.
After his arrest in June 2022, Tevaga admitted to robbing over a dozen parlors in three months, including five in Snohomish County. He needed the money to support his substance abuse, defense attorney Gabriel Rothstein said.
The string of robberies came a year after a 21-year-old man shot and killed 8 people, six of whom were Asian women, across three spas in Atlanta.
The defendant had no prior criminal history.
“We want to be clear, my client has no animosity or ill-will towards people of Asian descent,” Rothstein said in court. “He himself is a Pacific-Islander. However, we do believe his actions fit the statute, and therefore we made that plea.”
One man who Tevaga held at gunpoint in another spa robbery in Marysville addressed the court Friday.
“He picked victims who he knew wouldn’t fight back,” he said. “Whether it was because they were Asian or because they were women. I think his sentence needs to be longer rather than shorter, because he’s not taking responsibility.”
Tevaga’s family, friends and loved ones filled the courtroom. The defendant thanked his family for being there, but said nothing further in court.
“I think this is a good resolution of these matters,” deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin said Friday. “It holds Mr. Tevaga accountable for his actions with a significant prison sentence, but also it recognizes his desire to resolve these cases.”
Multiple victims and witnesses submitted written statements to the court.
“I won’t forgive the robber,” a worker from Thailand Massage in Marysville wrote. “Because he robbed me and it hurt me alot. I didn’t sleep well because I was afraid of being robbed. Decreased immunity. Frequent fever. It leads to a lot of physical problems.”
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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