Police arrest seven in serial robbery case

Seven people have been arrested in connection with a series of brazen gunpoint robberies that targeted not only drug homes but a fast-food restaurant with customers inside.

More arrests are expected as part of an ongoing investigation that began May 25 when four masked robbers burst into the McDonald’s at 4647 S. Regal St. and robbed four employees and six customers of cash, phones and other valuables.

“It’s not like an organized crew of the same four people doing robbery after robbery, but a loosely knit group,” said Spokane police Maj. Frank Scalise. “I am confident that the overwhelming majority of this group is behind bars.”

Surveillance photos of the McDonald’s robbers led to an anonymous tip that claimed Michael D. Brown, 23, was a suspect. Police believe he robbed the restaurant with Dwayne J. Tolbert, 21; Avery Loring, 25; and Brettly Sanderson, 16.

Alexsis A. Schell, 18, is accused of driving them to and from the restaurant.

Police believe the robbers went to Schell’s aunt’s home on North Howard Street to “divvy up the loot,” Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Tom Treppiedi said at Schell’s first court appearance Friday. The suspects were ordered to stay in jail on $500,000 bond.

Police believe Loring, who Sanderson said provided the guns used in the McDonald’s robbery, and Tolbert also robbed the Zip Trip at 2020 W. Francis Ave. on May 31. Sanderson said the robbery netted cigarettes and $14, according to court documents.

Sanderson was arrested last week in connection with a June 6 robbery at a home in the 2900 block of North Hogan Street. Most other suspects were arrested Thursday; Tolbert was arrested Friday. Detectives seized three cars related to the robberies and searched a home in the 2400 block of East Francis Avenue, where suspect Derek L. Wilson, 25, lives.

Police believe Wilson robbed the Hogan Street home at gunpoint with Sanderson and Christopher M. Comer, 24. The perpetrators in that incident pistol-whipped the victims, stole cash, marijuana and pipes, then stripped one of the victims’ 1997 Honda Civic of a subwoofer, tires and wheels. Police were told Wilson had the items at his Francis Avenue residence.

“It was described as Wilson’s own little pawnshop,” court documents said.

The victims said they recognized Sanderson during the robbery but had only known him for a couple of months and did not recognize his accomplices.

“This does seem relatively random,” Treppiedi said.

Wilson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole under Washington’s three-strikes law if convicted of first-degree robbery. He was released from prison April 25 after completing a 17-month sentence for third-degree assault, Treppiedi said.

“He doesn’t seem to understand the ramifications of his actions and what those consequences might be,” Treppiedi said.

Most of the suspects are known to police. Comer and Wilson are on probation through the Washington Department of Corrections, as is Loring, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to second-degree assault charges related to a robbery attempt near Gonzaga University.

As of late Friday, Loring was still at large.

Scalise said the recent robberies may not have been “very well thought out in terms of returns, but I think it was very dangerous in the event itself.”

“You’re talking about people who are armed, who are amped up,” Scalise said. “That’s a very adrenaline-filled event for everybody, the victims and the perpetrators.”

Scalise said the investigations have been a top priority for the past six weeks.

Scalise said Spokane remains a safe community, despite the robberies. Most robberies in Spokane target drug houses. The McDonald’s robbery, which occurred as six juveniles were in the store, was an exception.

“Going to a McDonald’s for a burger really isn’t a dangerous proposition, and day in and day out it isn’t,” Scalise said. “Sometimes random violence, random crime does occur. But it’s pretty rare.”