A man accused of committing two robberies and a burglary at Chehalis businesses in October, stealing an approximate total of $490, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Monday.
“As the court can see, this is just a string of criminal activity that spans three separate police investigations,” Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello said of the defendant, Ethan Bruce Butterfield, 25, of Chehalis, during his preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday.
“He’s lucky nobody has used self defense, or lethal self defense,” Judge J. Andrew Toynbee said during the hearing.
Toynbee set Butterfield’s bail at $50,000. Masiello had asked for $100,000 bail due to community safety concerns and concerns for Butterfield’s own safety.
“I think the state’s concerns are valid, but the court has to take into account his income status,” Toynbee said Tuesday.
The first of the three investigations began after a fast food restaurant in the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue was burglarized at approximately 3:15 a.m. on Oct. 14, according to court documents. Approximately $230 in cash was reported stolen from the cash register.
An employee reported they were “in the back washing dishes when they heard a loud sound,” which they initially thought was someone dropping something.
“However, when the employee came to the front of the store about 10 minutes later, the cash register and till were on the floor,” according to court documents.
The employee reported they had forgotten to lock the drive thru window and suspected someone had reached through the drive thru to access the register.
The second investigation began after the same business reported a robbery at approximately 4:11 a.m. on Oct. 28. An employee reported he was in the manager’s office counting cash “when a male wearing dark clothing and a red bandana over his face suddenly appeared,” according to court documents. The suspect reportedly “had his hand in his pocket and told (the employee) something to the effect of ‘don’t move and you won’t get in trouble,’” which led the employee to believe the suspect “has a weapon in his pocket” and that “he would be hurt if he attempted to stop him.” The suspect allegedly took approximately $200 in cash, exited out the back door and began to run, according to court documents. Officers with the Chehalis Police Department reportedly searched the area at the time of the report but were unable to locate the suspect.
The third investigation began at approximately 7:35 a.m. on Oct. 30 when Chehalis police officers were dispatched to a gas station in the 1200 block of Market Boulevard for a report that an unknown male had stolen money from the business’s cash register. The store clerk reportedly told a responding officer that the male “entered the store with a blanket over his head,” selected several items, approached the register and paid with a $20 bill, according to court documents.
“When the register opened, the suspect reached over the register and grabbed the cash in the open drawer,” according to court documents.
The clerk reportedly “grabbed the suspect’s hand and pulled the blanket off his head,” and a physical struggle ensued over the cash drawer. The clerk reportedly “punched the suspect to get him to let go,” but the suspect “used physical force to overcome (the clerk’s) grasp on the drawer” and fled the store with an estimated $60 in cash.
At the time of the third incident, officers had identified Butterfield as a possible suspect “given a prior similar theft,” and the clerk identified Butterfield as the suspect through a photomontage.
A Chehalis police officer eventually located Butterfield on Nov. 13, according to court documents. When questioned about the gas station theft, Butterfield allegedly “admitted to the incident at (the gas station)” and “said that he was cold and needed some chew.”
Butterfield was then questioned about the two thefts at the fast food restaurant, and Butterfield allegedly “admitted that he used to be an employee of (the restaurant)” and “further said he had been using drugs and going in the wrong direction,” according to court documents.
“He (Butterfield) wants the court to be aware he’s very interested in Drug Court, very interested in getting help and treatment,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said during Butterfield’s preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
In his interview with Chehalis detectives, Butterfield allegedly “admitted that he had been the one who stole the money through the drive-thru window,” saying “he did not drive through, he just walked through and reached into the window and stole the money.”
He also allegedly admitted to the Oct. 28 robbery, saying “he knew the back door was always unlocked … entered the business and took the money from the till as the worker was counting it.”
He reportedly denied saying anything to the employee at the time of the robbery, according to court documents.
Butterfield was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13. He has since been charged in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree robbery, one count of second-degree burglary, and three counts of third-degree theft.
Arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 22.
