Three Men Charged With Robbing Puyallup 7-Eleven, Other Pierce County Stores

TACOMA, WA – Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged three men with three counts of first-degree robbery and one count of attempted robbery in the first degree for robbing multiple businesses earlier this week.

James Jamal Robinson, 19, Darion Anthony Tilley, 20, and Javohn Lee Smith, 17,  were also arraigned on Thursday and pled not guilty. Bail was set at $250,000.

On April 8, 2013, at about 5:20 a.m., the defendants robbed a 7-Eleven store at 9517 South Steele St. in Tacoma.

Two defendants entered the store, pointing a gun at the clerk and a customer. The defendants left the store after stealing cash from the register and items off the shelves.

About 15 minutes later, the defendants robbed a Walgreens at 15225 Pacific Ave. South in Spanaway.

One of the defendants approached an employee with a gun and demanded, "open up all the registers...give me the money." He hit her in the head, then threatened to shoot her. The victim hit the security button, and the defendant fled without the cash.

At approximately 5:56 a.m., the defendants robbed Bikini Bottoms Espresso in the 7900 block of 176th St. East.

One of the defendants stood outside the espresso stand and pointed a gun at the victim through the drive through window and demanded money. He fled with the money from the cash register in a vehicle.

At about 6:20 a.m., the defendants robbed another 7-Eleven store at 15202 Meridian East in Puyallup. Two defendants entered the store, pointed guns at the clerk and a customer. They demanded the clerk to empty her cash register. She complied. They fled with the money from the cash register.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department responded and spotted the suspect vehicle shortly after 6:20 a.m. Deputies stopped the defendants. Tilley had $914, Robinson had $545 and Smith had $535 at the time of the arrest. A BB gun and .38 revolver were also found in the car. The defendants were booked into the Pierce County Jail.

In addition to the charges arising out of the April 8 robberies, Tilley and Robinson were charged with first-degree robbery for an incident on March 16. Robinson was also charged with another first-degree robbery for a robbery on March 15.

"We are thankful the Pierce County Sheriff's Department put a quick end to this violent crime spree before anyone was seriously hurt," said Lindquist. "We will vigorously prosecute these individuals and hold them accountable."

Investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming. Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.   

Information courtesy of Pierce County Prosecutor.