Parents defend sons

Two men accused of robbing a Moses Lake gas station are facing charges as their parents stand by their side.

Nicolas R. Kager, 22, Moses Lake and Coyote B. Womack-Tanner, 20, Moses Lake, are each charged with one count of robbery in the first degree in Grant County Superior Court.

Judge John Antosz ordered $50,000 bail for Womack-Tanner and $75,000 for Kager.

The men allegedly went into the Hill Stop gas on Pioneer Way at midnight on April 26, wearing dark clothes and ski masks and robbed the clerk at gun point, stealing $283, according to the Moses Lake police report. The clerk described one of the men wearing a South Pole brand of jacket.

The clerk told police the men drove southbound on Pioneer Way toward Interstate 90 in a dark sport utility vehicle. When an officer started watching traffic on the highway, he spotted an SUV moving quickly down the road, according to the police report.

Police reported noticing one of the suspects pull off a shirt while he was following the car. After stopping the vehicle, the officer started speaking with Womack-Tanner, allegedly noticing an assault rifle in the back of the vehicle, according to court records

After police obtained a search warrant for the vehicle, they reportedly found a .40 caliber pistol with three magazines in the car, which is what police believe is a close match to the gun the witness said was used in the robbery. Police reported they also found a South Pole brand of shirt in the back seat and $180 in a Kager's wallet. Police did not find ski masks.

Kager did not speak with police and Womack-Tanner denied any involvement with the robbery, according to police records.

The men reportedly filled the Chevrolet Tahoe at Ernie's Fuel Stop at 12:05 a.m., the time police declared the robbery was taking place in a press statement released last week.

Police investigators wrote in a report they believe it would be possible for the men to rob the gas station and get to the other gas station to fill up their SUV.

The two men's parents met with the Columbia Basin Herald and defended Kager and Womack-Tanner.

Cindy Robbins, Kager's mother, said in an interview she is certain both men are not guilty. She pointed out the clerk reported she saw a black Cadillac Escalade, but the men were driving a blue Chevy Tahoe. She also noted the police did not find ski masks in the SUV.

"These boys are adamant that they did not do this, and I believe them. My son just had a child. He would not risk his child. He adores her," she said. "Where'd the rest of the money go?"

Robbins said Kager and Womack-Tanner were on their way to see her with meat in the back of their truck to take to Kager's grandparents.

Kager's parents are offering a $2,000 reward for information to prove someone other than their son committed the crime.

People can contact Robbins at 425-446-2909 or Bob Kager at 208-568-1750.