A man who allegedly robbed two people at gunpoint who met with him to purchase a cellphone in Hazel Dell is now accused in an earlier, similar robbery.
Sean K. Andres-Delacruz, 20, was back in Clark County Superior Court on Thursday to face another allegation of first-degree robbery. He is accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint June 26 after she responded to an online ad to buy a cellphone, court records show.
Andres-Delacruz was in court Wednesday for the alleged July 1 robbery that occurred near a Hazel Dell sports complex. He was arrested July 5 in Corvallis, Ore., after a photo taken by one of the victims was released to the media. More than a half-dozen tipsters contacted investigators and identified the suspect as Andres-Delacruz, court documents state.
Vancouver police responded at about 9:45 p.m. June 26 to a reported robbery at Image Elementary School, 4400 N.E. 122nd Ave. The victim, 20-year-old Maria Sivak, told police she was robbed by two males after arranging to meet with them through OfferUp.com, an app-based marketplace, to purchase a cellphone for $400, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Sivak said the phone didn’t work so she did not buy it. One of the men then said, “You made me do this,” and pulled out a handgun from the waistband of his pants. The man ordered his accomplice to take the money from Sivak or he would shoot, the affidavit states. The accomplice grabbed the money, and the two men left.
Investigators connected the incident to the July 1 robbery after reviewing case reports and noting the similarities, court records said.
Records from OfferUp.com included messages between Andres-Delacruz and Sivak’s accounts, according to court documents.
In an interview with detectives, Andres-Delacruz reportedly admitted to robbing Sivak and being the one with the gun. He said it was a BB gun and that he threw it away after the July 1 robbery, the affidavit states.
According to the corrections release unit, Andres-Delacruz had recently been living with his mother in Clark County and formerly lived in Corvallis. His mother told authorities she was surprised that her son was in trouble and said he had never been in trouble before.
Andres-Delacruz’s bail is set at $100,000, and he will be arraigned in both cases July 26.
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