They brandished guns and stole cash. Now, suspected serial robbers are arrested, charged
Two men suspected of robbing 14 stores at gunpoint in Pierce County over the course of about five months have been charged. The men were arrested Monday night and Tuesday afternoon.
Arthur Dukes, 30, was charged Monday with 10 counts of first-degree robbery in Pierce County Superior Court. He was to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
The second man, Tyrone Prophet Jr., 29, was charged Tuesday with six counts of first-degree robbery in Pierce County Superior Court. His arraignment has not yet been set.
The arrests and charges come at a time when Tacoma Police Department has seen a significant increase in robberies in the first two months of 2022. Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20, the department reported 146 robberies. During the same time last year, that number was 62.
Detectives from police departments in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, University Place and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department used DNA evidence from a latex glove left at one crime scene, witness statements, phone records and surveillance footage to identify Dukes and Prophet as the men responsible for the robberies.
Between December and February, prosecutors say, Dukes walked into a variety of businesses in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, University Place, Spanaway and Parkland, produced a silver-and-black handgun and demanded cash. He often made off with about $200.
Altogether, Dukes stole at least $2,150 from stores in Pierce County. Prosecutors didn’t say how much was taken in two robberies he was charged with, and there was no mention of how much Prophet took in any of the robberies he’s charged with.
According to charging papers, Dukes was robbing a different store every week from Dec. 6 to Jan. 11. Some weeks he was hitting multiple stores. The robberies included several Subway sandwich shops, a vape store, an ice cream shop and a smoothie business.
The robberies Prophet is tied to were less frequent, and prosecutors believe he robbed the same T-Mobile store twice, in October and December. Prophet was charged with robberies in Tacoma, Spanaway and Fife.
It’s unclear how many Dukes and Prophet committed together, but cell phone records and witness statements placed the men at least two of them at the same time, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Dukes also was captured on surveillance video Jan. 7 fleeing a robbery in Parkland and getting in a waiting getaway car.
Gunshots weren’t fired in any of the robberies, but prosecutors wrote in charging documents that Dukes threatened a store clerk at Batteries Plus at the Tacoma Mall, telling the employee he would be shot if he called anyone. During a Feb. 10 robbery tied to both men, prosecutors said Prophet struck a store clerk in the chest with his firearm.
Both men have a history of felony convictions in Pierce County. According to the probable cause document, Dukes has eight prior felony convictions, including two counts of attempted first-degree robbery in 2010.
Prophet was sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison for shooting a Spanaway convenience store clerk during an attempted robbery. He was released in May 2021, according to the probable cause document.
Robberies Arthur Dukes is charged with:
Dec. 6, T-Mobile, 14902 Pacific Ave. S., Spanaway
Dec. 13, Better Vape, 4326 Bridgeport Way W., University Place
Dec. 19, Subway, 1816 S. Mildred St., Tacoma
Dec. 21, Subway, 4804 Point Fosdick Dr., Gig Harbor
Dec. 31, Subway, 6820 Kimball Dr., Gig Harbor
Jan. 4, Dreamer Ice Cream, 622 S. Sprague, Tacoma
Jan. 6, Batteries Plus, 4051 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma
Jan. 7, Emerald City Smoothie, 212 S. Garfield St., Tacoma
Jan. 11, Runway Fashion Exchange, 4020 S. Steele St., Tacoma
Feb. 10, AM/PM, 1101 S. Sprague, Tacoma
Robberies Tyrone Prophet is charged with:
Oct. 5, T-Mobile, 14902 Pacific Hwy. S., Spanaway
Nov. 26, T-Mobile, 4420 Pacific Hwy., Fife
Dec. 3, 7/11, E. 72nd St., Tacoma
Dec. 6, T-Mobile, 5104 6th Ave., Tacoma
Dec. 6, T-Mobile, 14902 Pacific Ave. S., Spanaway
Feb. 10, AM/PM, 1101 S. Sprague, Tacoma
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
