A suspect who couldn't help himself from drinking his victim's smoothie as they sat in the victim's vehicle during a 2011 armed robbery at gunpoint was recently identified by Lacey police due to DNA left on the straw.
The suspect was identified after DNA that was collected from the straw of the smoothie was analyzed at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. The DNA left on the straw matched the suspect's DNA profile, which had already been entered into a national DNA database of felons.
Based on the DNA left on the straw being analyzed this year and matching the convicted felon's DNA profile, last week, Thurston County prosecutors charged Roger Taylor, 30, with a count of first-degree robbery. Taylor was served with the arrest warrant in the Clark County Jail, where he is currently in custody due to state Department of Corrections violations, court papers state.
Taylor is accused of stealing $4,000 from a local plumber after he allegedly approached the victim in a Tacoma parking lot in August, 2011. Taylor allegedly forced the plumber at gunpoint to drive to his Lacey credit union and withdraw the money from his account. The victim was allegedly carjacked after purchasing a beverage at the Emerald City Smoothie store on 6th Avenue in Tacoma, court papers state.
According to court papers:
The plumber reported the incident to Lacey police on August 19, 2011. He said that while walking back to his vehicle after buying the smoothie, he was approached by a man he had never met before. As the plumber tried to enter his vehicle, the suspect pointed a gun at him, and entered the vehicle with him.
The plumber said the man demanded about $4,000. The plumber said he would have to get the money from his credit union in Lacey. The plumber said he drove the vehicle as the suspect sat in the passenger seat, with the handgun pointed at him. He said that he went through the drive-thru window at the Twin Star Credit Union in Lacey and withdrew the money. He said that "the defendant still had the firearm out, but down at his side so that it would not be visible to someone else."
The plumber said he then drove the suspect to a nearby park and ride. He said the suspect took his keys and cell phone, and then "placed those objects on the ground" some distance away as he waited for a cab to pick him up. After the suspect left in a cab, the plumber said he then drove to the Lacey Police Department to report the crime.
Lacey police recovered surveillance video from Twin Star Credit Union showing the plumber withdrawing his money from his account. In the video, the plumber's passenger was seen using a straw to drink from the plumber's smoothie. The straw was sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, and in May, the DNA profile was matched with Taylor's DNA profile, which was already in the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS database.
The plumber also later identified a photo of Taylor from a photo montage of possible suspects as being the suspect who committed the armed robbery. Surveillance video from the Emerald City Smothie parking lot in Tacoma also was consistent with the plumber's account of being robbed at gunpoint. Lacey police also located the taxi driver who picked up the suspect at the park and ride in August, 2011, and his story was consistent with the plumber's account of what happened.
A Lacey detective met with Taylor at the Clark County Jail in October, and he denied committing the robbery. He invoked his right to remain silent during questioning, but was charged by Thurston Couty prosecutors on Nov. 20 with committing the armed robbery.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445 jpawloski@theolympian.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.