Cops search for armed robber who uses gun and hatchet

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SEATTLE -- Police all over King County are on the lookout for a brazen robber who they say is not only armed but extremely dangerous.

His name is Andrew P. Lemm.

Lemm was first identified by viewer tips after surveillance video aired on "Washington’s Most Wanted" program showing him robbing a Plaid Pantry store in Seattle on June 9.

Watch as he barges in, pushes a customer to the side and points a gun right at the clerk.

Then he leaves with the cash.

"What I want to stress in this case is the way that suspect is holding that weapon. You will notice his trigger finger is actually inside what we call the trigger guard. It only takes about five to seven pounds of pressure before that trigger is pulled back and that gun actually goes off,” Myrle Carner with Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound said.

Police say Lemm struck again last Wednesday.

His target was a 7-Eleven store in Shoreline and his weapon of choice was a hatchet.

Detectives say he threatened a clerk with the hatchet.

Lemm took off in a stolen vehicle and drove to Oregon, where police arrested him.

He was booked into jail, but because cops there had no information on the robberies, he was released and police believe he could now be back in the Seattle area.

"There's absolutely no question this guy knows he`s wanted.  First of all, he saw himself on Washington`s Most Wanted.  I`m sure everyone in the world told him, `hey, they`re looking for you.’ The thing that bothers us is he`s got a gun. He`s on the street. He may do something stupid,” Carner said.

When he's in Seattle, investigators say, Lemm hangs out in the Ballard and Crown Hill neighborhoods, especially the "Duck Pond" area of Golden Gardens Park.

If you see him or know where police can find him, call Crime Stoppers or 911.