Prosecutors filed charges Tuesday against two local men for the targeted robbery of several Hispanic businesses on the Eastside and in Snohomish County, including two in Redmond, over the past three months.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Kingsgate resident Luis Fernando Koyoc-ek, 33, and Woodinville resident Oscar Chavarria-Sotelo, 24, with a total of eight counts of first-degree robbery in Superior Court.
Arraignment is scheduled for March 3 at King County Courthouse.
Police believe at least one or maybe both men are responsible for at least three different armed robberies in Redmond, two in Kirkland, one in Bellevue and several other cases in King and Snohomish counties.
Kirkland Police Lt. Mike Ursino said investigators from five law enforcement agencies coordinated the on-going investigation of Koyoc-ek and Sotelo, who were both arrested at their homes and held at the Kirkland jail Feb. 12.
Bail was set at $100,000 for Koyoc-ek, who was involved in all three Redmond robberies, and $50,000 for Chavarria-Sotelo, who was part of at least one of the Redmond robberies, according to charging papers.
According to prosecutors, the crime spree began in Nov. 30 in Redmond when Koyok-ek allegedly threatened staff at Preciado Northwest, 8048 161st Ave. NE, with a gun. The suspects fled the store with $2,000 in cash and jewelry, according Redmond Police spokesperson Jim Bove.
Then the two men struck a Kirkland business at gunpoint Jan. 16 near the Totem Square Shopping Center in Kirkland.
According to the police report, the men demanded money from a female cashier while pointing a handgun at her head. Koyoc-ek continued to grab the tip jar and dump the money inside a backpack.
Koyoc-ek did not wear gloves and police later tracked him down using fingerprints from the jar. Koyoc-ek then led police to Sotelo, who was paid to be Koyoc-ek’s getaway driver for at least one of the Redmond robberies, in addition to a robbery in Kirkland and Bellevue, according to charging papers.
On Jan. 24, Koyoc-ek entered Tienda Mi Mazatlan, 16720 Redmond Way, Suite D, and one pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the female clerk. The suspects took off with $600 in cash.
Then on Jan. 31, Koyoc-ek went into the same store, pointed a gun at a female clerk and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t hand over the money, according to charging papers. Koyok-ek then allegedly told her to lie down and count to 10, as he ran out of the store with just over $400, according to Bove.
Bill Christianson, Editor of the Redmond Reporter, contributed to this report.
