It didn’t take police long to connect an employee to the armed robbery of a legal marijuana growing operation in Factoria last month.
The inconspicuous Origin Cannabis Company was robbed of $9,000 worth of marijuana by two masked men on the night of April 17. Bellevue Police quickly tied 25-year-old employee Isaac Pollard to the crime, according to charging documents in King County Superior Court.
Two men entered Origin through an unlocked door, one carrying what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun, which he pointed at employees, according to court documents. The armed robber is alleged to have also stolen two cellphones from female employees and an iPod Touch from a desk.
Pollard reportedly was not the gunman, but police allege — despite a mask — he was easily identifiable by a tattoo of the F-word on his right hand, the word spelled out across his fingers. The former employee also wore shoes identical to the unarmed robber, who was the first to enter Origin; that was 10 minutes after Pollard clocked out, according to court documents. The robber — alleged to be Pollard — also reportedly knew exactly where to find the marijuana, in an unmarked location.
The two robbers were in and out of Origin in about a minute, according to court documents, and left the way they came.
Pollard, who had only worked for Origin a few days in April, fled the state and was arrested in Atlanta on May 11, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and extradition is pending. Bellevue Police report the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in taking Pollard into custody, but would not disclose further details. Bond for Pollard was set at $500,000 for first-degree robbery by King County Judge Bill Bowman on May 18.
Police used cellphone records to track down the robbers’ alleged getaway driver, arresting Christopher Gartside in Tacoma on Wednesday. Bail for Gartside was set at $75,000 in King County Superior Court on Thursday. According to charging documents, Gartside, 25, admitted to driving the getaway car in exchange for two ounces of weed, one of the stolen cellphones and gas money.
Gartside also allegedly identified a man known as “Malachi Boss” on Facebook as the second robbery suspect, whom police would identify as 23-year-old Christian Malik, according to documents. He was arrested near his Lakewood residence on Wednesday, and a King County judge set his bail at $100,000 on Thursday. Gartside has previous convictions for burglary, assault, theft and was arrested for marijuana possession several times last year.
Malik allegedly used a BB gun that looked like a real firearm during the robbery, pointing it at two female employees. According to court documents, he told police he agreed to assist with the robbery in exchange for six ounces of marijuana.
A second court appearance for Malik and Gartside is set for Monday, which is the deadline for the King County Prosecutor’s Office to file formal charges against them.
