PORT ANGELES — The arraignment of a Neah Bay man accused of two counts of armed robbery in Port Angeles is set for Friday.
Wendell R. Wilkie Jr., 30, faces charges of two counts of first-degree armed robbery; each carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison and a $50,000 fine, if he is convicted.
Wilkie was booked on a warrant for his arrest on March 7 after a weeklong investigation into the early morning armed robbery of a Shell gas station on Feb. 27 and an attempted armed robbery of the Quality Inn Uptown on Second Street at noon March 2.
A probable cause statement by the Port Angeles Police Department alleged the following details.
The gas station was robbed at 4 a.m. Security footage showed Wilkie holding what was believed to be a black handgun and stealing $336 from the till.
Wilkie allegedly tried to steal money from the Quality Inn, but he found no cash there, police said. He fled on foot down an alley into a waiting car, they said.
Police reviewed security footage while investigating both crimes.
The video from several area businesses showed Wilkie heading westbound from the gas station on Front Street for about two blocks before entering a maroon 1997 Ford F-150 pickup, police said.
They said they found later that the car was registered to Wilkie’s father in Neah Bay.
Additional local video footage saw Wilkie park the vehicle at an apartment complex in Port Angeles, where he stayed for about 20 minutes before leaving again, police said.
PAPD coordinated with Neah Bay Police Department and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office to locate the vehicle, which was found traveling westbound on Eagle Crest Way on March 1 when it ran out of gas.
A deputy with the sheriff’s department approached the driver of the vehicle; police said in the probable cause statement that he was Wilkie’s brother.
According to police documents, Wilkie’s brother told the deputy he had just retrieved the truck from Wilkie, who had been driving the vehicle for the last three weeks after taking it from his father.
Wilkie’s brother also told deputies that Wilkie’s family was worried about him; they knew he was living on the street and that he often stayed at an apartment in Port Angeles.
Security footage from a resident living behind the Quality Inn showed Wilkie getting into a green Ford Explorer.
A search warrant for the car was also granted, and it revealed Wilkie’s debit card and the alleged handgun, which turned out to be a pellet gun.
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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.
