Teens suspected of planning armed robbery of South Hill gas station arrested

Three boys suspected of planning an armed robbery of a South Hill convenience store on Monday in order to get money for marijuana have been arrested.

Spokane police said the boys, ages 12, 13 and 14 years old, were suspected of stealing candy from the store at 17th Avenue and Ray Street earlier in the day Monday, according to a news release.

At around 5 p.m. one of the boys returned to the store, displayed what looked like a large handgun and shouted, “Give me all your (expletive) money.”

He fled the store after he was given cash from the store’s register, the news release said. Officers set up a perimeter around the store while a K-9 team tried to track the suspect for more than hour.

The store gave police surveillance pictures of the teen from the candy theft and robbery, and a Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy who happened to be in the area said he was trying to contact the same boy from the images, the news release said. The deputy gave Spokane police a possible name and home address for the suspect.

Officers contacted two brothers at the address provided by the deputy, the news release said, and police linked them to the robbery through their investigation. Police also identified the third suspect who was seen on surveillance video displaying the handgun.

The boys told police they planned the robbery to get money for marijuana, the news release said. Officers recovered stolen money, two “realistic looking” BB guns, a ski mask and candy at the address provided by the sheriff’s deputy.

The suspects were booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of first-degree robbery.