Alleged robbers found by cellphone
Local Crime News
EPHRATA - A home invasion robbery in Moses Lake happened after one of the alleged robbers was told he couldn't stay the night.
Christopher A. Blanco, 26, Moses Lake, Homero Villanueva, 31, Moses Lake, Johnny Torres-Perez, 21, Moses Lake, and Ismael Ortiz Jr., 20, Moses Lake, are each charged with two counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of burglary in the first degree.
Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz set bail at $125,000 for Ortiz, Villanueva and Blanco. Torres-Perez's bail was set at $75,000.
The victims reportedly told Blanco he couldn't stay the night at the Fourth Avenue residence before he organized the robbery, according to a Moses Lake police report. The four men allegedly entered the residence through a rear door, wearing hooded sweatshirts and dark-colored bandanas over their faces.
One of the men allegedly pointed a handgun at the victims, ordering the two men to get onto the ground. One of the victims reported trying to run, before the man with the gun threatened to shoot him. The victim lay down.
The men reportedly took the victims' cellphones, wallets and a laptop, and kicked the victims in the head before leaving, according to the police.
Police traced one of the victim's cellphones to a Miller Drive residence. Moses Lake police and Grant County sheriff's deputies responded to the home, and an officer ordered the people out of the residence, according to the police report. The people did not respond for more than 20 minutes before leaving the residence.
Police allegedly found the laptop in a Ford Expedition parked outside the residence. They reportedly found the phones in a child's seat cushion. They also allegedly found papers with the victims' names on them as well as a silver handgun.
Moses Lake police reported Ortiz is a career criminal with prior violent felony convictions, Villanueva has prior felony convictions and was recently released from prison and Torres-Perez has prior convictions for drugs and weapons offenses.
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