Edgar O. Gonzalez Barragan, the 33-year-old Mexican national convicted of stealing Jaws of Life equipment from the Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia, was detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac Thursday, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
He was charged with robbery and attempted robbery of three tribal casinos and a bank.
Gonzalez Barragan was previously charged with first-degree theft in Lewis County on Aug. 12 for stealing Jaws of Life equipment from the Riverside Fire Authority on Aug. 9.
On Oct. 3, Gonzalez Barragan pleaded guilty in Lewis County Superior Court and was sentenced to three months in jail with 54 days of credit for time served.
According to the DOJ, Gonzalez Barragan’s admitted theft was one small part of a nearly two-week crime spree that began on Aug. 1.
On that day, Gonzalez Barragan allegedly displayed a silver handgun at the Tulalip Quil Ceda Creek Casino and demanded money from the cashier.
“The cashier pressed the panic button and refused to hand over any money despite the gunman’s threat to shoot guests,” the release stated.
Gonzalez Barragan fled.
Then, on Aug. 3, Gonzalez Barragan allegedly robbed the Silver Reef Casino on the Lummi Nation Indian Reservation, again using a silver handgun.
On Aug. 9, Gonzalez Barragan reportedly fled the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino in Shelton. According to the DOJ, the teller told Gonzalez Barragan there was no cash in the till after he allegedly removed his gun for the third time in just over a week.
“Later that same day, the Riverside Fire Authority reported that a $12,000 piece of equipment called the ‘Jaws of Life’ was stolen off their fire truck,” the release stated.
The Chronicle previously reported that Gonzalez Barragan and his vehicle had been captured on surveillance cameras. Court documents indicated a witness had seen the suspect walking by a nearby library carrying the equipment, before placing it in the trunk and driving away.
Centralia police reportedly confirmed the witness’s statement by reviewing video footage from the library and corroborating with the witness.
Using the Flock Safety camera system, officers were then able to obtain license plate information of the suspect’s vehicle and learned the plate was stolen from another vehicle.
Additional investigation led officers to earlier Flock footage of the same vehicle located in Centralia — this time with a different plate number. The registered owner of that license plate was later connected to Gonzalez Barragan.
On Aug. 11, Gonzalez Barragan allegedly robbed a U.S. Bank branch in Shoreline.
Investigators later received a Flock notification saying the suspect’s vehicle was located in Kent. Around 8 p.m., officers from the Kent Police Department detained Gonzalez Barragan.
“When Gonzalez Barragan was arrested that day, he was wearing the same clothing he wore during the bank robbery,” the DOJ news release stated.
The Chronicle previously reported Gonzalez Barragan was found with makeup covering his body, ostensibly to cover up his tattoos.
The DOJ indicated cellphone location data was used to place Gonzalez Barragan “in the vicinity of all the robberies and attempted robberies.”
According to the DOJ, the FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security, Kent Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, Federal Way Police Department, Marysville Police Department, Centralia Police Department, King County Sheriff’s Office, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Mason County Sheriff’s Office, the Lummi Nation Police Department, the Tulalip Police Department and the Squaxin Island Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Celia Lee is prosecuting the case.
