16-year-old arrested in string of Vancouver robberies

Vancouver police arrested a 16-year-old boy Wednesday in connection with a string of convenience store robberies last week in central and east Vancouver.

Officers responded to four gas stations that were robbed between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. Feb. 26. The locations were 7-Eleven, 9701 E. Mill Plain Blvd.; 7-Eleven, 410 N.E. 136th Ave.; Chevron, 16406 S.E. 26th St.; and Chevron, 1900 N.E. 162nd Ave. Building E.

The robbers were reportedly armed with a silver handgun and took cash register money in each incident. Money was taken from a safe in one of the robberies, the police department previously said.

On Wednesday, detectives from the Major Crimes Unit, along with the Southwest Washington Regional SWAT Team and Safe Streets Task Force, served a search warrant on a house in the 5300 block of Northeast 66th Street. Investigators found multiple items of evidence connected with the robberies, including a stolen handgun, according to a police news release.

The teenage boy was booked into the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of three counts of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and taking a motor vehicle without permission, the news release states. Authorities did not release his name.

The Major Crimes Unit is continuing to investigate the robberies.

The police department previously said investigators were searching for two to three male suspects and a stolen Kia Optima. The Kia was located the day after the robberies, unoccupied, and returned to the owner.

Vancouver police ask anyone with information or any witnesses who haven’t spoken with investigators to contact Detective Rodrigo Osorio at 360-487-7355.