Robert J. Hughes, back row, and Robert T. Hendrickson wait to go before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The two men arrested for allegedly holding up two banks in Chehalis on Saturday got away with, briefly, roughly $2,276.
Robert T. Hendrickson, 23, of Centralia and Robert J. Hughes, 32, of Tenino, were charged today with first-degree robbery, attempted first-degree robbery and attempting to elude a police vehicle.
The pair were taken into custody after wrecking during a police pursuit less than 30 minutes after officers were called to a silent alarm at Twin Star Credit Union on South Market Boulevard and then 10 minutes later to Chase Bank a few blocks to the north.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Defense attorney Bob Schroeter said Hendrickson has no current income or assets and Hughes is pending $300 a month from on-the-job injury payments. Both qualified for court appointed attorneys.
Parents of both men were in Lewis County Superior Court today when the defendants appeared before Judge Richard Brosey.
Charging documents and police allege the following account:
Employees at Twin Star observed a man later identified as Hendrickson standing in the customer service area.
When he was asked if he needed assistance, Hendrickson put his hands in his pockets, leaned forward and told the credit union employee to give him all the cash in the drawer.
The employee said there was no money in her drawer, but said they could get some out of the ATM. He left.
Chehalis police have said that branch has no cash drawers like regular banks.
Hendrickson got into to the passenger side of a black Acura.
Employees at Chase told police an individual later identified as Hendrickson came in and asked to use the restroom and left soon after. He returned a few minutes later and approached a teller with his hands in his pockets.
“Give me all the money in the drawer and there won’t be any problems,” he allegedly said.
The teller removed all the cash from the drawer and set it on the counter. Hendrickson put it in his front pocket and walked out the front door.
The silent alarm from Twin Star on the 1500 block of South Market Boulevard came at 10:07 a.m.
As police officers converged, already with descriptions of the suspect and the car, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ken Cheeseman saw a male run from Chase Bank and get into a black Acura.
He followed but lost sight of the car but it wasn’t long before an officer spotted a black Acura at the Interstate 5 exit at Mellen Street in Centralia.
Centralia Officer Ruben Ramirez followed the car which began heading west on Cooks Hill Road watching a woman walking her dog yank her pet from the road and go into a ditch to avoid getting hit, as well as observing the Acura swerve into oncoming traffic narrowly missing two oncoming vehicles.
Ramirez activated his lights and siren and hit speeds of 100 mph.
The car passed Swanson Drive and as it entered a curve, skidded off the road into a ditch.
An individual later identified as Hendrickson exited the passenger side and ran, but Ramirez’s partner, police dog Lobo, took him to the ground.
When Hendrickson was searched, a large wad of money was found, some of which was confirmed to be from a robbery the day before in Thurston County. Chehalis police have said the pair might be tied to a bank robbery in Olympia.
Other money was seen in the console area of the car.
A Chehalis detective reviewing surveillance videos from both financial institutions identified the individual shown as Hendrickson.
His bail was set at $150,000. He has no felony criminal history, according to Schroeter.
Hughes, because he has some felonies and other crimes in his background, including a recent bail jumping charge in Thurston County, found his bail set at $250,000.
Their arraignments are set for Thursday afternoon.
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For background, read “Breaking news: Holdups at two Chehalis banks, two in custody” from Saturday March 17, 2012 at 12:35 p.m., here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Will both of you just go away. I mean your both right and both wrong.
Yes the parents have a great influence over their children and how they turn out. So yes sucky parents means a good chance of sucky kids.
At the same time he is his own person and makes his own choices so he needs to answer for what he has done.
As far as the name calling, both of you need to grow up. Oh and just in case you both want to attack me now I will not sink to your level with any form of response. So feel free to take some shots at me.
What a pair of idiots. Shantel, your 23 year old brother has no income or assets. NONE? Really? Is he in school? Why is he hanging out with someone 9 years older than him??? It floors me the sense of entitlement some young adults have these days. I wish we could still charge parents for the crimes their children commit, even after they are 18, especially when it is so obvious that this is a result of a neglectful upbringing.
You’re NOT Anonymous , GOODBYE KATIE !!!
ok shantel since i couldnt post on that comment u left barb ill do it here…ok he did what he did no one denies that fact so instead of sayin ignorant crap either support their family in this tough time or get a life an move on.
Oh self righteous Shantel. First of all with all the shit talking you and your mother have done to so many people over the years, I could be anyone!! So believe what you want. So how does it feel? Everything I said is the truth and me staying anonymous is me giving you a taste of your own medicine. As for one for throwing stones, maybe if you would stop running your mouth on the internet and mind your own business, then maybe those stones YOU throw won’t bounce back and crack you in the fucking face.
I dont know who ” 2good4LC” is,Maybe you should be Man or women enough to say your name! I have a feeling i know who this is and the person lives in texas i believe! And you shouldnt be throwing stones, because i also know all about you and your family, so I’m sure you feel real proud of yourself by talking a bunch of sh.. . But no family is free of mistakes made or a bad apple in the bunch somewhere, and funny thing is the ones who throw stones are typically the worst ones , wich if this is who i think it is, im right! Get a life and worry about your own demons in your closet, because dissing my family on the internet does nothing but hurt yourself , because we all only have one judge , and i know what you will face on your day of reckoning!!
I always wondered how he got all that g-unit clothing.
What a couple of dumbshits. If stupidity were a crime, they should both get the death penalty. If the younger one comes from a family of worthless, blood-sucking welfare and social security (SSI/SSD) recipients, there isn’t a lot of hope for him anyway. People get accustomed to handouts and working the system and develop a sense of entitlement that never goes away. They’re lazy bums that breed and raise more lazy bums. Pretty soon us working folks will be such a minority, even if the government steals ALL of our earnings by taxing the shit out of us, it still won’t be enough to support all these leeches. Then what!?
I know Hendrickson and the lazy hillbilly family he comes from. Lets just say he’s not the brightest bulb in the bunch. It sounds like he really thought this one through. Instead of looking for a job and doing something with his life like most 23 yr olds he goes the way he’s been taught by his loser family to take what he can. Scam, steal and screw the goverment. I bet his Mother is saying its not his fault and was talked into it by the other idiot. Time to quite nursing and take responsibility. I doubt he’ll get life but probably 10 yrs cuz he said he had a weapon or implied he did.
I know Hendrickson and the lazy hillbilly family he comes from. Lets just say he’s not the brightest bulb in the bunch. It sounds like he really thought this one through
Sell guns that will be used to kill police and others, 18 months in prison. Drive-by shooting that scares people, years to serve. Beat a man to death, 9 months sentence. Kill your baby instead of letting planned parenthood do it, 10-20 years. Have meth, slap on the wrist; have medical pot, get arrested. Steal money from a bank and get life. …… hmmmmm. There’s something funny with our “justice” system.