Two men accused of robbing Joint Base Lewis-McChord, hoarding weapons at a Lacey home and being white nationalist extremists have pleaded not guilty to several crimes.
Charles Ethan Fields, 26, and Levi Austin Frakes, 27, made their pleas during their arraignment hearings in Thurston County Superior Court on Tuesday.
The Sheriff’s Office arrested the two men after federal law enforcement executed a search warrant at a home on the 3000 block of Puget Meadow Loop Northeast, just east of Willamette Drive, on June 2.
Law enforcement seized about 35 weapons, including rifles, pistols, short-barreled rifles and a machine gun, as well as weapon suppressors, explosives and various military equipment, some of which is restricted Army-issued munitions. The items were reportedly found alongside Nazi and white supremacy flags and paraphernalia.
Judge John Skinder set bail at $500,000 for each of the men on June 3. Two days later, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged each of them with 10 felonies and three gross misdemeanors.
The charges include possession, manufacture or disposal of an incendiary device, four counts of unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, unlawful possession of a machine gun, four counts of unlawful possession of explosives and three counts of misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon.
Frakes was charged with nine felonies and three gross misdemeanors. His charges largely aligned with Field’s charges except he was charged with three counts of unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle rather than four counts.
Both men are due back in court July 9. A jury trial for the Thurston County case has been scheduled to start Aug. 11, however that might change.Meanwhile, Fields and Frakes are under federal investigation for allegedly robbing JBLM and assaulting a service member on June 1. They reportedly had access to JBLM because they are military veterans.
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division filed a criminal complaint in U.S. federal court at Tacoma on June 4. The two men are accused of three counts each: robbery, assault and theft of government property.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Grady J. Leupold reviewed the complaint and found probable cause for the alleged crimes that same day. Court records detail investigation into alleged robbery
The complaint details the federal investigation into the two men from the perspective of law enforcement.
Fields and Frakes allegedly entered JBLM through the Liberty Gate at about 8:05 p.m. June 1 by scanning their identification documents.
Surveillance footage showed the two men entering in a 1997 Toyota 4Runner that was registered to Frakes.
An hour later, a U.S. Army member entered the Charlie Company 75th Ranger Central Operations Facility and encountered the two men. They both wore masks and Ranger physical fitness attire.
The Army member questioned them about their reasons for being there.
A fight ensued and one of them assaulted the Army member with a hammer in the head and torso, causing “bodily harm and a large amount of blood loss,” according to the complaint.
The Army member continued to fight and “gained control of the hammer,” but he eventually surrendered when one of the persons brandished a knife.
Fields and Frakes then fled the scene with some of the property, the complaint says. Surveillance footage showed they dropped a rucksack outside the building and a second rucksack near the main gate of the compound.
During the assault, one of them dropped a hat which had the name “Fields” handwritten on the inside.
Military police responded after 10 p.m. and the injured Army member was transported to Madigan Army Medical Center for treatment. Photos of the Army member show him at the hospital with a bloodied head.
Army CID special agents arrived the next morning and collected evidence from the scene, including a cut lock, a bolt cutter, disposable face masks, latex gloves, the hat and the rucksacks.
The agents determined the two persons attempted to steal about $14,000 worth of U.S. Government property, including ballistic helmets, rifle plates and communications equipment. Most of the property was recovered at the scene.
Given the evidence, agents identified Fields as a suspect and learned he lived at a Lacey residence with Frakes.
The agents watched the Lacey home and observed a black Toyota 4Runner, which was registered to Fields, park in the driveway.
Meanwhile, the injured Army member asked around his unit about Fields and learned he had been assigned to the Ranger Battalion around 2021. He was shown a photo of Fields by other people in his unit and identified him as one of the persons who assaulted him, according to the complaint.
Later that day, agents obtained a search warrant from Thurston County Superior Court, allowing them to search the Lacey home.
In addition to 35 weapons, agents seized weapon suppressors, helmets, night vision devices, ballistic plates and plate carriers. They also seized military munitions and explosives, such as blasting caps, flashbangs and smoke grenades.
Some of the items may be possessed with “unique permission” from the Department of Defense, according to the complaint, and others were so restricted that active-duty military members are not allowed to store them in their personal residences.
During the search, law enforcement observed “numerous Nazi/white supremacy memorabilia, murals and literature in every bedroom and near several stockpiles of weapons and military equipment.”
Following the search, agents interviewed Fields and Frakes. One of them allegedly admitted to the June 1 robbery as well as stealing military property from JBLM for about two years to later sell or trade.
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