Seattle Police arrested a 16-year-old suspect in Kent on Tuesday, April 19 who is wanted in connection to the March 19 fatal shooting of a cannabis store employee, according to Tacoma Police.
Montrell Hatfield was charge with first-degree murder in Pierce County on March 24. Under state law, juveniles charged with first-degree murder are automatically charged as adults.
Hatfield was arrested by Seattle Police on April 19 because he and a 15-year-old teen, who is in custody, are suspects in multiple armed robberies in Seattle, Tacoma Police tweeted.
On March 19, two suspects — later identified as Hatfield and the 15-year-old — entered the World of Weed dispensary near Portland Avenue East and East 32nd Street in Tacoma. Hatfield allegedly got into an altercation with an employee before the 15-year-old suspect shot him, according to Pierce County charging documents.
The employee, 29-year-old Jordan Brown, died at the scene.
The two juveniles also face charges for allegedly robbing a Federal Way pawn shop at gunpoint in February, stealing over $24,000 and jewelry, and forcing employees and customers to lie on the floor at gunpoint.
Hatfield and the 15-year-old suspect were both charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in King County Superior Court on Feb. 25.
At the first appearance on Feb. 24, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office argued the teens should be kept in juvenile detention, said spokesperson Casey McNerthney. They were released on electronic home monitoring by Chief Juvenile Judge Averil Rothrock.
Both of the teens allegedly escaped from home detention after cutting off their home monitoring devices on March 16, according to Pierce County court documents. Felony warrants were then issued for their arrests.
The two teens are also suspects in at least 10 additional armed robberies in Pierce and King counties with similar modus operandi, according to Pierce County charging documents. That includes the Feb. 22 robbery in Federal Way.
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