Soap Lake man gets 3 months for 2017 armed robbery

SOAP LAKE — A Soap Lake man was sentenced to three months of jail confinement for his role in a December armed robbery near Soap Lake.

David Knott Jr., 29, of Soap Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to second-degree robbery and received a three-month jail sentence, with credit for time served. Knott’s co-defendant, Cristian Bustos, 22, of Soap Lake, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and was sentenced to 53 months in prison.

The incident in question occurred on Dec. 19 and involved Bustos, Knott and a teenager robbing a man and stealing his vehicle. The victim told investigators on the day of the robbery he picked up the three male in the 100 block of Adrian Avenue, in the Lakeview community, and he drove toward the area of Road B Northwest to find a spot to smoke marijuana, according to court documents.

During the drive Bustos brandished a gun, with Knott and the teen doing the same, and the victim was instructed to do whatever Bustos told him to do. They drove to the dead end of Road B and the suspects stole the victim’s cellphone, car keys, $3 and some loose change. He was instructed to crawl under a gate at the end of the road.

The victim crawled under the gate and knelt on the ground and at least one shot was fired. The three males then proceeded to steal the victim’s vehicle and fled the area.

“All three suspects pulled weapons and threatened (the victim). Without question, Bustos, Knott and (the teen) had planned to commit such crimes. A plan had been formed as each acted in unison and knew what each other was doing,” wrote the investigating deputy. “The suspects inflicted extreme mental distress on (the victim) and he believed he more than likely would be shot and/or killed during the commission of such incident and taken to an unknown location.”

The stolen vehicle was later recovered in the Swanson Addition area in Ephrata. Bustos and Knott were taken into custody Dec. 21 by the U.S. Marshals Task Force in the 100 block of Adrian Avenue Northwest. Charges against the teen have been dismissed.