Robbers hit 3 Tri-Cities stores in 2 days. The crimes may be related
Tri-Cities police are investigating if the same crooks are to blame for three gas station robberies and a purse snatching over the Easter weekend.
Robbers held up two Kennewick Circle K stores and a Richland 7-Eleven, and a woman in Pasco was clubbed on the head while washing her car.
Two men have been arrested so far in connection with one of the robberies but police still aren’t sure if all the cases are related.
2 Monday holdups
Kennewick police were called just after 1 a.m. Monday to a robbery at the Circle K store West 10th Avenue and South Union Street.
Officers and a police dog tried to track the two suspects but they apparently got into a vehicle and got away, said Kennewick police.
Later, about 2:20 a.m., two masked men entered a 7-Eleven at 2411 George Washington Way and demanding cash and products.
One suspect appeared to have a weapon, said Richland police.
The men fled toward Kennewick and stopped at the intersection of West Quinault Avenue and North Columbia Center Boulevard. They got out of the car and took off but were caught by Richland police and other officers.
Tanner J. Montgomery, 23, of Kennewick, and Ismael Campos, 25, of Pasco, were arrested on suspicion of first-degree robbery.
Another Circle K
Early on Easter Sunday, two suspects wearing dark clothes and masks entered the Circle K store on Columbia Center Boulevard near Deschutes at 1:30 a.m. and demanded cash and cigarettes.
The suspects, who may have had a weapon, took off before police arrived, police said.
In that case, Kennewick Police Department was helped by Richland police, Benton County sheriff’s deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers along with police dog unit. But no suspects were caught at the time.
Pasco purse snatching
Pasco police are investigating whether a weekend purse-snatching is related to the Kennewick and Richland robberies.
A woman in Pasco reported being clubbed on the head and robbed of her purse at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Pasco police said.
The victim reported she was on 14th Avenue near Hassalo Street washing a car when two men with bandannas covering their faces came up behind and struck her on the head with something. They then fled in a gold-colored car after taking her purse.
Anyone with any information about any of the cases is asked to call non-emergency dispatch at 509-628-0333.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 12:53 PM.