2 Tri-Cities teens busted for crime spree of meet-up robberies and coffee stand break-ins

Two teens are in jail in connection with a four-week crime spree of three robberies involving online apps and a string of coffee stand break-ins around the Tri-Cities.

During one crime, they’re accused of using the messaging app Snapchat to lure someone to a location to buy marijuana, then robbing and pistol-whipping the victim, said a Pasco police Facebook post.

A victim in another robbery was hit over the head with a gun and, during a third robbery, a shot was fired near a victim, said Pasco police.

Pasco police, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, arrested the 16-year-old boy and a Finley 18-year-old this week.

The 16-year-old, whose name was not released, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and is being held at the juvenile detention center in Kennewick on investigation of armed robbery, first-degree assault and felony harassment with threats to kill.

Angel Paredes-Ibarra, 18, of the Finley, was arrested Thursday morning and booked into the Franklin County jail on the same allegations, said police.

They also are under investigation for the Tuesday-morning burglaries at several Tri-City coffee kiosks.

A dark green Honda Accord linked to the 16-year-old was impounded as part of the investigation because it appears to match security camera photos from one of the burglaries, said the post.

Pasco police said they are investigating Paredes-Ibarra and the younger teen’s connections to the following crimes:

▪ Two male victims were robbed by two other males at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 25 near 24th and Sylvester streets in Pasco when they responded to a Snapchat message about buying some marijuana. One suspect had a pistol and used it to hit one victim. Both were robbed of their cash and phones, including an iPhone 11. The suspects demanded their names and threatened them.

▪ On Feb. 16, two other victims were robbed at 9:20 p.m. at a car wash at 10th Avenue and B Street in Pasco after they showed up to buy an iPhone 11 in a deal set up on the LetGo app. One suspect had a gun and threatened to kill them, then fired off a .40-caliber shot next to the victim’s head. The suspects left in a dark four-door car.

▪ About an hour later, about 10 to 12 blocks away, two male victims were at Memorial Park to meet someone who was selling an iWatch on a Craigslist post. One victim was hit over the head by a suspect with a pistol and robbed.

▪ This week, early on Tuesday, Feb. 18, five coffee stands in Pasco, Richland, Kennewick and Finley were burglarized when suspects smashed windows and grabbed money and items, such as iPads. Security footage from the Dutch Brothers kiosk on Burden Boulevard in Pasco showed the suspects leaving in a black or dark green Honda Accord with black rims.

The other burglaries were at the Dutch Bros. on Columbia Center Boulevard, the Little Firehouse Coffee stand on Clearwater Avenue, a Richland coffee stand and the Fintucky Coffee on Highway 397 in Finley.

Police say anyone involved in a not-yet-reported meet-up robbery should report it immediately to the police agency where it happened.

Investigative Services Division detectives are continuing to investigate the Pasco incidents and are asking anyone with information on any of the crimes or the suspects to call dispatchers at 509-628-0333.

Information can also be emailed to Detective Julie Lee at leej@pasco-wa.gov or Detective Chris Caicedo at caicedoc@pasco-wa.gov.