By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An individual who recognized the suspect in the robbery of a Morton senior citizen spotted the suspect at a Mossyrock gas station, called 911 and followed him to the Harmony Lakeside RV Park where he was later arrested, according to authorities.
Jason A. Brown, 35, was booked into the Lewis County Jail on Friday and charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree robbery.
Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead asked that Brown be held on $75,000 bail. Judge James Lawler agreed.
Brown had outstanding warrants from Lewis, Kittitas and Spokane counties at the time of his arrest, according to Halstead.
Morton police have been looking for their suspect since the afternoon of Aug. 29 when they were called to the Morton Country Market on Second Street, where a customer in his early 80s was accosted in the parking lot by an individual who asked him if he had a few dollars, then reached into his pocket, forcefully took his wallet and ran, according to authorities.
Officers were able to view security images that showed the suspect walk out of the store, and look around as if he was looking for someone, before confronting the victim John Zapalac near his car, according to charging documents. The suspect could be seen “crowding” the victim, taking something from him and then getting into a silver Chevrolet Monte Carlo and driving away.
Morton Police Department Chief Roger Morningstar posted pictures of the suspect and his car on social media and then reached out to David Rose, host of the television show Washington’s Most Wanted.
Someone who saw Rose’s piece on the robbery saw the suspect about 2 o’clock on Friday afternoon at the Mossy Mini Shell station, according to the chief.
The tipster followed the car to Silver Creek and saw the suspect enter a Bounder-style motorhome, according to charging documents.
Morningstar said the state patrol got to the RV park first, then Morton police arrived. He said they could hear someone inside the motorhome, but they would not answer the door.
The park manager said she’d seen the suspect coming and going from the RV for several days, charging documents relate.
Morningstar said police knocked on the door, banged on the door and eventually after getting a search warrant, forced the door open.
Brown was in the rear of the RV and was arrested. A second person was arrested for obstruction, according to Halstead.
One of Brown’s warrants was from an Aug. 21 arrest in Chehalis when a neighbor on the 100 block of Southeast First Street called police about a man with a backpack that walked to the back of a residence. An officer arrived to find a man walking out the front door with a purse and a jewelry box and found the back door had been kicked in, according to charging documents in that case.
Halstead said when Brown was arrested, he gave his brother’s name as his own, and after he was released from jail, failed to show up for his arraignment. Lawler set bail this afternoon for that case at an additional $75,000.
Brown’s warrant from Kittitas County is for first-degree theft and his warrant from Spokane County is for three counts of residential burglary, according to prosecutors. Police say he is from Spokane.
The victim in the Morton grocery store parking lot robbery told police his wallet contained $82 cash and other items such as discount cards.
Brown’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
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For background, read “Senior citizen mugged outside Morton grocery” from Wednesday August 30, 2017, here
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Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
He’s right I guess.
I mean, what if a giant meteorite hit earth right now. There would be so much pain and grief as we are all extinguished from existence that nobody would care about the guy who robbed this elderly Gentleman.
None of which has anything to do with the story WTHS. The guy committed a crime that most of society scorns and got caught through some good police work. PERIOD!
Try doing something worth while with your own life rather than hijack threads…. Irrational response in 4,,,3,,,2,,,
Ony boy u get tv service?
Hey “What the helicopter says” this dude may be a pussycat but he is a serial criminal nonetheless. Maybe they should let him out and put him your neighborhood. Might end up being one of your best friends since you seem to think everyone else is more criminal than he is.
What the helicopter says:
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 9:58 pm
“I got you one better. (blah, blah, blah)… Ever see the Jetsons?”
Sorry to shatter a cornerstone of your logic, but neither the Jetsons or even Gilligan’s Island were documentaries….
My compliments to Chief Morningstar for taking such an aggressive approach to tracking this “suspect” down.
Nice Job Sir!
I got you one better. Killing and stealing from unborn children is govt sanctioned. What do you think the growing national debt intails? We make a debt our unborn children pay for bs wars today. Collecting taxes from working people and giving it to Food stamp collectors. IRS? How is that any different? Intimidation? We bully entire nations around and bomb the hell out of them for them doing the basically the same thing we do. You should see the shit going on in your school districts. Corporal punishment, calling on the kidnapping kids because their parents missed the bus drop off times, Teachers impregnating students the community looking the other way, Correction officers raping inmates getting off with time served, Treasurers going on gambling vacations after stealing from the general fund. When does it all stop? The govt will have half of this old mans estate when we croaks anyway. It called a death tax. Keep thinking your free. Like a said hes a freakin Teddy Bear. A petty thief at worst. From what I understand he did what many wives do to their husbands everyday. Ever see the Jetsons?
What a total waste of human life Jason Brown is! He is such a big bad ass! I bet Barney the Purple Dinosaur could kick this moron’s ass because you have to be a real tough guy to rob an 82 year old senior citizen! I wonder what was next in his criminal career… maybe beating up a kindergartner for his lunch money?? Or perhaps kicking a few puppies? As a former Correctional Officer with the state, I saw what happened to guys like this and I hope he ends up at Walla Walla. They like guys like him there. I believe he is in PC at the jail, hence the green stripes…. Yeah, that is where they put the sickos like chimos and rapists that are too afraid to be in general population because they know what happens to winners like him in general population…
Sounds like “what the helicopter says” has lots of knowledge about the criminal justice system. Thinks all the “ills” of the world are because of government when it is people like him that screw up the world. The A hole that mugged the 80 year old man must be a real jewel. Maybe even one of your buddies helicopter?
“mugged by the state. this guy is a teddy bear compared to government officials.” So intimidating and stealing from an old man unable to defend himself is okay? Nice.
Interesting, he is a violent criminal (accused), yet he is wearing a green striped jumpsuit in the courtroom. Why would a man in a green striped jumpsuit have to post $ 75,000 bail? Especially when he appears to be a repeat offender?
That shirt suits him a lot better.
mugged by the state. this guy is a teddy bear compared to government officials.