Police: Masked armed robber is 12-year-old boy; he made his getaway on bicycle

EVERETT -- Police say they have cracked the case of three brazen armed robberies and some of the suspects aren’t even old enough to drive.

Cops say it was surveillance video that helped them identify one 12-year-old. That boy is accused of using a gun to hold up a convenience store and a coffee stand.

Surveillance video shows the 12-year-old suspect pointing his pistol at the clerk at Pecks Drive Market in Everett on Aug. 28.  The boy tosses a plastic bag onto the counter and demands money from the till.

Then, less than a week later, investigators say the prepubescent punk held up the Hillbilly Hotties coffee stand on Hoyte Avenue. The boy rode up to the shop on his bicycle and ordered a drink.

“When the victim in this case told him how much it was, he reached into his backpack and pulled out the firearm at that time and demanded the money,” Aaron Snell with the Everett Police Department said.

According to cops, the barista told the boy they didn’t have any money so the kid took his drink, grabbed their tip jar and rode off on his bike. Surveillance video helped cops catch up with the kid.

Cops also believe he got the gun from another youngster who’s caught on tape in late July robbery of a Jimmy Johns sub shop. The surveillance video shows the armed robber isn’t alone, another child assisted in the crime who hasn’t yet been identified.

“I was ready to make a sandwich for somebody and it turned out they didn’t want a sandwich,” said Tasha Hodges, who witnessed the robbery while working at the sandwich shop.

When the manager of the store opened the register, the boys grabbed the cash and took off running.

Hodges says she can’t believe kids would risk so much for so little.

“It’s chump change when you really get down to it,” said Hodges. “Your whole life is gone because you made a really bad decision at a really young age.”

Cops say the same weapon was used in all three robberies.

Both boys are under arrest, and police said they have confessed to committing the crimes. The Seattle Times and Everett Herald reported that the 12-year-old has been charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and the 16-year-old has been charged with one count of first-degree robbery.  The two are being held at the Denney Juvenile Justice Center. The younger boy is being held on $10,000 bail and the older boy’s bail is $5,000, the Times reported.

Cops aren’t sure where the gun came from in the first place, and they’re still on the lookout for the second kid involved in the sub shop robbery.