Arrests may help crack West Seattle robbery ring

Arrests may help crack West Seattle robbery ring

Surveillance camera image of one of the robberies.

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Story Published: Jan 4, 2009 at 6:45 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 4, 2009 at 7:03 PM PDT

By KOMO Staff

WEST SEATTLE, Wash. - Three men arrested in connection with the robbery of a West Seattle 7-Eleven early Sunday may be part of a group of armed robbers that have been terrorizing convenience stores for past month, police say.

The three suspects were arrested at about 1:35 a.m. Sunday, following a robbery of the 7-Eleven store at the corner of SW Admiral Way and California Avenue SW.

Police say trio fits the description of suspects in a string of eight commercial robberies since Dec. 8 in the West Seattle, White Center and Tukwila neighborhoods.

The three were identified as Jose G. Torres, 18; Lopes I. Valenzuela, 21; and Esgar Villegas, 18.

Police recovered bandanas, hats and guns at the time of the arrest.

Officers say they believe the three suspects are part of a larger ring. They feel these arrests may enable police to round up the remaining members of the group.

The Sunday morning arrests were made possible through the cooperation of several Seattle police divisions and multiple agencies.

At least one of the earlier robberies was captured by a video surveillance camera, which showed the robbers entering the store with their faces and heads covered up.

One robber then walked around the counter and emptied the till while the other pointed a sawed-off shotgun at the clerk. The clerk is seen with his hands up, putting up no resistance.

In all of the robberies, the suspects are in and out in seconds. But for the clerks, the terror lingers much longer.

Myong Yi was one of them. Four masked robbers burst in on him to grab money and beer. He, too, was held at gunpoint.

"I don't have nothing. I don't have no choice," he said. "(I told them), 'Take money is OK. Don't shoot me.'"

No one was hurt during any of the robberies, but detectives said the robbers appeared to be young and extremely aggressive.

Clerks said they don't want trouble; they're just trying to make a living.

"If they want to get money, I wish they would just get job," said one clerk.

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