4 charged with robbery after 2 violent incidents in Tillicum
Pierce County prosecutors have charged four young adults with hitting and kicking two people during robberies Tuesday in Tillicum.
Michael L. Warren, 23; Mathew J. Holt, 20; Brandon L. Buckley, 18; and Krystal R. Smith, 21, were each charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree robbery and made court appearances.
Holt was ordered held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. The others were ordered held on lesser amounts.
Lakewood police and charging documents gave this account:
A 25-year-old man walking toward the Tillicum Food Center, 14713 Union Ave., was approached by a group about 8:15 p.m. and asked if he was “Kevin.”
The man, recognizing two of the people from an incident the week before when he’d been jumped, said no and tried to walk away. The group then punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground.
He ran toward the store “but was caught and dragged out while still being punched,” charging documents state. The man also was kicked and his wallet stolen. The attackers fled, leaving him with a bloodied lower lip.
About 20 minutes later, a 51-year-old woman was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground as she walked near the location of the first attack. She told officers she was repeatedly hit and kicked. The attackers fled with a prescription bottle filled with Vicodin pills.
The woman had cuts and blood on her face. Her wrist was broken.
She identified Holt and Warren as the people who robbed her, prosecutors said. Smith and Buckley also were arrested and admitted they were involved in the robberies.
Prosecutors said Holt and Warren are members of a Tillicum street gang.
stacey.mulick@thenews
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