KENT, Wash. — An 18-year-old suspected gang member from Tukwila was charged with first-degree robbery in King County Superior Court.
The robbery is alleged to have happened around 7:15 p.m. July 5 at a Safeway located in Kent.
In a probable cause document, police said Ismael Cibrian threatened a store employee with a gun while he stole two cases of Modelo from the store.
Police said the employee was asking Cibrian if he was going to pay for the beer when he quickly pulled out a black pistol.
The employee told police he was afraid he would get shot if he tried to stop Cibrian from stealing the beer and walked away.
According to police, Cibrian made a reference to a gang at the employee as he left the store.
In their investigation, police said Cibrian openly claims “Little Brown Pride” or “LBP” on his public Facebook page. A detective wrote that amongst law enforcement, “LBP” is known to stand for “Little Brown Pride,” a Sureno subset.
Police said the employee later identified Cibrian as a suspect in the robbery.
As they continued to investigate, police said they identified a girl as a second suspect in the robbery.
In their conversation with the girl, police said she admitted that Cibrian yelled a reference to his gang in an effort to “scare the employee.”
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Surveillance video from outside the store showed Cibrian and the girl fled the scene in a red hatchback vehicle, according to a probable cause document.
Police later tracked down the owner of the vehicle, who admitted to driving Cibrian and the girl from the store but said she did not know they had stolen the beer.
On July 7, officers with the Kent Police Department responded to reports of a carjacking and found Cibrian sitting in the back seat of a car.
When taking Cibrian into custody, police said they found a black semi-auto SpringfieldXD handgun where he was sitting.
Police said they believe it was the same gun used in the Safeway robbery.
Cibrian was later booked into jail where he remains in lieu of a $75,000 bail.
His criminal history includes prior juvenile convictions for robbery and theft, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Cibrian also has pending charges in juvenile court for obstruction and theft.