A Graham man was arrested last week for allegedly being one of four people involved in breaking into an Elk Plain home in January, zip-tying a woman inside and robbing her at gunpoint while falsely claiming to be federal law enforcement.
The robbery occurred Jan. 4 at a home about a half mile from Bethel Middle School, according to charging documents filed this month in Pierce County Superior Court. The 71-year-old woman was having coffee that afternoon when her front door was kicked open by men wearing badges. She later recounted the ordeal to Sheriff's Department detectives.
"U.S. Marshals! Get on the ground! Put your hands behind your back!" she recalled the men yelling.
Two of the robbers were masked and wore black or camouflage clothing and tactical vests, surveillance video from the home showed. One carried an AR-style rifle. The woman told detectives the men pointed a gun in her face, restrained her and asked, "Where's the money?" One demanded to know where a DVR was while others ransacked her bedroom. She said she asked to see the identification of one of the men, and he pointed to his badge.
The men were not U.S. Marshals. Authorities believe one was Timothy Eugene Rozier, a 43-year-old man with felony criminal history in Pierce County dating back to 2001, according to court records, including convictions for attempted residential burglary, second-degree assault and unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance. Surveillance video allegedly showed him load a round into his pistol before entering the residence.
A warrant was issued for Rozier's arrest when charges were filed against him Feb. 17. He was arrested the next week and was arraigned Thursday on charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Pro tem Judge John Hickman set bail at $500,000.
Detectives are working to locate the two other men who entered the home and the driver who brought them to the 21700 block of 34th Avenue East in a gold Chevy Tahoe.
Rozier was the only suspect who wasn't wearing a mask, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Records state a corrections deputy recognized him in a bulletin issued to local law enforcement, and previous photographs of Rozier matched images taken from surveillance cameras at the victim's home.
Investigators also obtained cell phone data for the defendant that allegedly showed him in the area of the victim's home at the time of the robbery.
The robbers stole a purse containing money and jewelry, a pump-action shotgun and other items, according to the probable cause document. The victim told detectives she thought the men could have been looking for money she found hidden in her home after her husband died, but she said the funds had been moved into a friend's account.
After the robbers left, the woman removed a blanket that had been put over her head and escape from the zip ties binding her, according to the probable cause document. Shortly after, a resident of a nearby trailer saw the woman's front door was damaged and came inside.
That's when 911 was called.
Sheriff's Department spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss said these sort of robberies are typically either drug-related or set up by a family member. Moss said deputies don't believe the victim is a drug dealer, but he said some other people were staying on the property.
"It's very seldom that it's random," Moss said.
Detectives did confirm with a supervisor within the U.S. Marshal's office that the unmasked suspect was not one of his deputies, records state. Detectives also asked about the other suspects.
"He confirmed that the two masked suspects did not appear to be U.S. Marshals, particularly since one of them was wearing a badge more similar to local law enforcement agencies," prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
Crimes where individuals impersonate U.S. Marshals aren't unheard of — a man was arrested for it in Maryland last year — but impostors are more common as cell-phone scams. The federal agency and the FBI issued a press release in October warning the public of several nationwide scams involving callers attempting to collect a fine in lieu of arrest due to a claim of identity theft or other offenses.
