Police nab Ephrata Burger King armed robbery suspect

EPHRATA - The Ephrata Police Department and Grant County Sheriff's Office arrested a man who is a suspect in the armed robbery of the Ephrata Burger King.

At 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, Ephrata officers were called to an armed robbery in progress at the Ephrata Burger King, located at 1306 Basin St. SW, according to city administrator Wes Crago.

Two officers and two Grant County deputies responded to the scene.

Aaron Shelton, 31, of Soap Lake was chased north from Burger King on foot by two officers.

At 9:22 a.m. Shelton was seen in a vehicle in the Ephrata Safeway parking lot.

Shelton fled the officers in the vehicle. He later crashed the vehicle into a pole behind the Ephrata Ace Hardware.

Shelton was taken into custody by officers after a brief standoff.

"This incident was resolved quickly and without anyone being harmed. I could not be more proud of our officers and the deputies who took this suspect into custody so professionally," Ephrata Police Chief Mike Warren said.

Shelton was booked into the Grant County Jail on 10 counts of reckless endangerment, coercion, second-degree theft, three counts of second-degree assault and first-degree robbery. Shelton was also booked on a state Department of Corrections Secretary's warrant.

The investigation into the case is ongoing.

Please contact the Ephrata Police Department by calling 509-754-2491 or emailing crimetips@ephrata.org to report information about the case.