A 37-year-old man accused of robbing a Walmart in Yelm is being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Chad Everett Tipton attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Yelm police arrested Tipton on Tuesday after he allegedly left a Walmart on State Route 507 with unpaid merchandise. When he left, Tipton allegedly pushed a Walmart manager and displayed a pistol before fleeing in a vehicle.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeremy Olsen accused Tipton of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. Court Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax found probable cause for the alleged crimes and set the bail amount.
Tipton has a long criminal history dating back to 2003. It includes four thefts and two assaults among other crimes.
In connection to this incident, Yelm police also arrested a 32-year-old woman on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle and obstructing a law enforcement officer. However, court records indicate Judge John Skinder ordered the woman be released without bail in a separate order on Tuesday.
A probable cause statement describes investigation into the incident from the perspective of law enforcement.
At 9:18 p.m. Tuesday, a caller reported a theft at the Yelm Walmart. Dispatch informed police a group of people fled the scene in a dark-colored sedan that almost hit someone in the parking lot.
The caller reported the license plate, according to the statement. When police searched for it, they reportedly learned the vehicle was stolen out of Olympia.
While officers were en route to the Walmart, another officer located the dark-colored sedan with a matching license plate that appeared to have slid off the roadway and into a ditch.
A foot pursuit ensued, and the officer managed to catch the man, later identified as Tipton.
The Walmart manager told police he tried to stop two men from leaving the store with unpaid merchandise. He alleged Tipton pushed him into a gate and then reached into his waistline to display a black handgun, according to the statement.
The second man allegedly pushed a store employee as well. Both men left the store with a woman, but only two of the three entered the dark sedan, the manager told police. One of them entered a separate dark sedan, drove toward the store and picked up another woman, the manager said.
During this stop, an unknown citizen tried to record the sedan's license plate, but the driver allegedly tried to run the citizen over before fleeing, court records say.
Video surveillance from the store corroborated the manager's story, according to the statement. It showed a Volkswagen, allegedly driven by Tipton, swerve toward a citizen.
Court records indicate Tipton's arraignment has been scheduled for Nov. 8.
