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Pasco armed robber may have struck again
Dec 04, 2009 (Tri-City Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Another Pasco convenience store was robbed at gunpoint Wednesday night -- the third in five days -- and police suspect it was the same robber.
The suspect -- or suspects -- also may have hit a Basin City convenience store about 90 minutes before robbing Pasco's Atomic Foods.
Pasco police Capt. Jim Raymond said there are many similarities in the Pasco robberies, which leads investigators to suspect they are related.
"It seems like he's probably going to keep robbing until he's going to get caught," Raymond said.
The suspect's description was similar to the previous two robberies, only this time a bandana covered his face.
The robber didn't try to hide his identity when he held up the Metro Mart on Saturday or the One Stop on Monday night. Police released images from One Stop's security video Tuesday that show a clear view of the suspect.
Raymond didn't have full details about the robbery at Sandoval's Market in Basin City, but he suspects it's also linked to Pasco's robber.
"We have a series of robberies, back-to-back, with the same type of weapon ..." Raymond said. "It's highly possible (it's the same suspect or suspects). It's highly possible there's more than one."
Tips have been coming in, and investigators are looking at some people to determine if they are involved, but so far none of the leads have panned out, Raymond said.
The suspect is described as being around 25, about 5-foot-8 with a thin or medium build.
Anyone with information can call Pasco police at 545-3421 or through the nonemergency dispatch number at 545-3510.
Confidential calls also can be made through Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers at 586-8477or go to www.tricitiescrimestoppers.org. Tips also can be sent by text message by writing "Text TIP 411" plus the message to CRIMES (274637).
FIRE DAMAGES PASCO HOME THURSDAY: Heavy black smoke and flames shot out of a Pasco home Thursday afternoon as fire crews arrived.
No one was home when fire broke out at the single-story house at 1603 Park View Blvd. at about noon, officials said.
Crews quickly knocked down flames inside the home, which sits across the parking lot from Whittier Elementary School.
The fire started in a back bedroom, but investigators were not able to determine what caused it, said Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear.
Fire crews turned it over to Pasco police to investigate, he said.
POLICE CLERK ACCUSED IN THEFT OF $11,000 CAUGHT: A former Sunnyside police clerk accused of stealing more than $11,000 from the department was caught Thursday near Los Angeles, authorities said.
Virginia Perez, 21, who was living in South Gate, Calif., was arrested there by police and U.S. marshals, authorities said.
Perez is to be extradited to Yakima County, where she was charged in September with five counts of felony theft.
Perez worked for the police department for 15 months before being put on leave, then fired in September 2008, after "questionable transactions" were discovered on some city accounts, officials said.
Investigators discovered 30 fraudulent transactions from May to August 2008 totaling more than $11,000.
New checks and balances have since been put into place, including limiting the way money is accepted into a prisoner's account, to prevent any future theft, officials said.
FIRE DESTROYS HERMISTON MOBILE HOME THURSDAY: A Hermiston mobile home was destroyed by fire Thursday morning.
Flames raced through the single-wide mobile home on Vetter Lane and burned it to the frame, fire officials said.
The fire was reported by a passerby. No one was home at the time and no was injured.
Investigators are working to determine the cause, but extensive damage may make it hard to pinpoint, officials said.
The home belongs to Ida Vetter, who told the East Oregonian newspaper she had lived there since 1981 and on Vetter Lane since she was young.
Her miniature dachshund was missing, but Vetter told the newspaper she hoped the dog made it out through the doggy door.
SUNNYSIDE POLICE ARREST 3, SEIZE PISTOL, DRUGS: A loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a scale and two small baggies of marijuana were seized during a Sunnyside traffic stop, authorities said.
Three Sunnyside men with warrants out for their arrest also were taken to jail.
City police stopped a silver 2000 Chevy Malibu just before 2 p.m. Tuesday because it had a defective windshield and found the driver had a suspended license and two warrants, said Charlotte Hinderlider, department spokeswoman.
Officers also ran record checks on two passengers and learned both had warrants, she said.
Officers also found the back seat passenger, Pedro Flores Baltazar, 27, had two .45-caliber cartridges on him and found four additional cartridges in the car near where he was sitting, Hinderlider said.
They then searched the car and found the loaded pistol, she said.
Baltazar was booked into the Sunnyside City jail on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm, possessing a stolen firearm and warrants.
Carlos Flores, 27, and the driver, Jose Gonzalez, 25, also were jailed on warrants.
CRASH KILLS 3 FROM PENDLETON FAMILY: Three members of a Pendleton family and their dog were killed when their car collided with a pickup pulling a horse trailer, the Oregon State Police said.
Troopers said the crash happened when the car crossed the center line in dense, freezing fog late Wednesday afternoon on a curve of Oregon Highway 11 south of Milton-Freewater, The Associated Press reported.
The victims were identified as 71-year-old Edwin Nurmi, the driver; his wife, 72-year-old Rae Nurmi; and their son, John Nurmi, 50. The couple had seat belts on, but their son didn't, troopers said.
The pickup driver, Ned Londo, 66, of Milton-Freewater, suffered minor injuries. Troopers say he wore a seat belt, and his air bag deployed.
To see more of the Tri-City Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.tri-cityherald.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick,
Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
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