Man charged in Warden robbery

WARDEN — One of three suspects in an armed robbery in Warden has been charged with two crimes in Grant County Superior Court.

Grant County prosecutors charged Victor M. Delasancha Diaz, 29, of Warden, with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.

In the morning hours of March 25 the Warden Police Department was made aware of a robbery that had occurred in the city in the 900 block of South Washington Avenue. The victim in the robbery told a WPD officer that about 12:30 a.m. he had gone out to his vehicle to ensure it was locked and he was approached by two male subjects, one known to him as “Beaver,” believed to be Delasancha Diaz, and another man he knows as “Tony,” according to court documents.

The two men allegedly ordered the victim to go into Delasancha Diaz’ camper. While in the camper Delasancha Diaz, “Tony,” believed to be Antonio Jacobo Campos, 32, of Othello, and an unidentified female engaged in conversation in English and Spanish. The victim said he told the male subjects he needed to leave, but they reportedly wouldn’t let him exit the camper.

“(The victim) informed me that he knew better than to just try to walk out because he has had previous encounters with the men and (they) were very violent towards him and his roommates in ways that they would make threats to him telling him that they would stab him or beat him if he didn’t do what he was told,” wrote a WPD officer.

After about an hour Delasancha Diaz allegedly grabbed a grocery bag filled with drugs “the size of a baseball” and forced the victim to snort an unidentified drug. A couple of hours after the victim entered the camper another man, believed to be Diego Alberto Cano, 42, of Othello, and reportedly struck the victim twice in the face with a closed fist.

Delasancha Diaz also reportedly joined in the assault and struck the victim with a closed fist across the left side of his jaw. Cano allegedly exchanged shoes with the victim and took the man’s sweater, car keys, wallet and cellphone. The victim claimed Cano grabbed a knife “that looked like a dagger” and held it against his stomach, threatening him to not tell police what had occurred.

Before Cano left the camper he allegedly gave the victim “more drugs to consume because he did not want him to faint,” according to court documents. The victim contacted police a few hours later and authorities obtained a search warrant for Delasancha Diaz’ camper in the 900 block of South Washington Avenue.

The warrant was served about 4:10 a.m. March 27 and Delasancha Diaz was taken into custody. Detectives with Grant County’s Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team reportedly recovered 26 grams of meth under a mattress in the camper. Also recovered in the camper was a .38 caliber revolver. Cano and Campos have not yet been booked into the Grant County Jail and are considered to be armed and dangerous.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.