Police in Kitsap County have a cat-and-mouse chase with armed robbery suspects. The group, including at least one teen, hit four convenience stores in one night according to investigators. Three of the four robberies happened within minutes of each other.
The first happened at C&C Super Save in unincorporated Bremerton just after 7:22 pm Tuesday night. Kitsap County deputies responded to that call. The store employee, who was behind the register at the time said the suspects spent maybe a minute inside the store. They pointed a gun at her during that time.
“For a split moment, it didn’t feel real. As soon as he said b**** open the till before I blow your brains out,” said Annie Vega, the employee who was robbed. “[I] tried to stay calm. Give him the money. Then he was yelling at me because I didn’t have any big bills,” Annie added.
Police said that the group then headed about a mile and a half away to Rob’s Quick Stop. That store is just a seven-minute drive from the first store robbed. That clerk had a gun pointed at him too. That store was the first one in Bremerton city limits hit. While both the Bremerton Police Department and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office investigated the first two robberies, police got a third call.
“A robbery came out in East Bremerton, now at Sheridan minimart. Again this is almost a straight drive there based on the timing. We had similar suspect descriptions, the vehicle, and basically the M.O. on how the robberies took place,” said Bremerton PD Cpl. Derek Ejde.
The first three robberies all took place between 7:20PM and 7:45PM Tuesday. A few hours later, around 10:30PM police said the group hit the final store, a 76 gas station on Old Frontier Road. That clerk was hurt but they had minor injuries. About an hour after that, a Kitsap Deputy saw a Jeep that matched what security cameras saw the suspects get into.
“Two occupants fled the vehicle. The driver was in the store. That driver walked away from that scene and then two occupants were contacted in the vehicle,” said Cpl. Ejde.
Police believe only one of the teens in the car was involved in the robberies, the other was able to leave. The two teens ran from the vehicle, they’re still at large. Bremerton PD also said they could only confirm one of those two was a suspect as well. Police arrested the driver, a 32-year-old woman in the neighborhood behind 7-11. Investigators used K-9s and WSP’s air patrol to make that arrest.
Annie Vega said she’s still processing what happened.
“I’m thankful that we’re all alive. Knowing that I wasn’t the only one doesn’t make it any better. It makes it feel worse, I’m sorry someone else had to go through what I went through,” she said.
Police are still looking for the two teens who ran from the car Tuesday night. Bremerton PD could only confirm one is a suspect right now. Bremerton PD also said they’re working with other agencies to see if this group is behind similar crimes in other jurisdictions.
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