PORT ANGELES — Two men have been arrested in connection with home invasions earlier this month after they allegedly bragged about them and showed off a bullet wound inflicted by a homeowner who shot through a door.
William Sean Moore, 26, and Travis Lee Turner, 19, were booked into Clallam County jail Thursday for investigation of first-degree robbery, attempted first-degree burglary, first-degree attempted robbery, four counts each of theft of a firearm, two counts each of unlawful imprisonment, first-degree assault and trafficking in stolen property, Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores said.
They remained in jail without bail Saturday.
Moore and Turner were arrested in connection with an early morning home invasion robbery July 7 and an attempt at a similar robbery July 8, when homeowner Louie Rychlik, 70, glimpsed a gun pointed at him, slammed his door and fired his own through it.
Two people told deputies last week that Turner and Moore had bragged about the robberies, Moores said.
Turner also allegedly told the two people that he had been shot in the arm while trying to commit one of the home invasions and showed them his gunshot wound, Moores said.
Authorities continued Saturday to look for a third man, whom they believe has fled the state.
“We’ve got an idea of where he’s at,” Moores said.
Moores said Turner and Moore have admitted they committed the robberies.
Moores added that Turner said he was shot while trying to force his way into Rychlik’s home, and Turner has a 3- or 4-inch grazing gunshot wound on his right bicep.
Turner and Moore will have a first appearance in county Superior Court at 1 p.m. Monday.
They will be assigned an attorney, and bail will be set, county Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly said Saturday.
Formal charges will be filed later this week, she said.
Armed and disguised intruders robbed a Gales Addition couple of about $900 in cash and jewelry after entering their home at about 1:30 a.m. July 7.
The next day, also at about 1:30 a.m., Rychlik told authorities a man knocked on his door in the 300 block of South Barr Road between Port Angeles and Sequim and asked for gas.
Rychlik said Saturday that he told the man he did not have any gas and retrieved his cellphone for the person to call for assistance.
He also got his gun.
Rychlik, who said he was suspicious someone would knock on his unlit back door so late at night and ask for gas, brought his handgun — a .38-caliber revolver — to the back door.
When he opened the door, he saw the man who had knocked on it, then saw a second man in a face mask come around a corner of his house and point a gun at him, Rychlik said.
“I slammed the door and opened fire,” Rychlik said.
“It was as easy as that.”
“I said, ‘Come on back, boys, I got some more for you,’” Rychlik continued.
The bullet went through the wooden part of the door, not the glass, he said.
“If I would have shot 1 inch higher, he would have been dead. It would have went right through the window and nailed him.”
Rychlik, owner of Louie’s Well Drilling, said he recognized Moore as one of the assailants.
Rychlik sponsored a youth bicycle racing team on which Moore was a participant when Moore was younger, Rychlik said.
“I known him as a kid,” Rychlik said.
“This is shocking to me, really.
“He was a hell of a good kid.”
Rychlik said he now wears his gun while in his own house and was wearing it when he spoke to a reporter during a telephone interview Saturday.
“It’s on my hip,” he said.
“This is something you don’t forget, something you can’t forget.”
Moores said a confidential informant also overheard Turner and Moore bragging about the home invasions and saw Turner’s gunshot wound.
The two-week investigation by authorities led them to the Riviera Inn in Port Angeles, where Turner and Moore had been staying, Moores said.
Authorities conducted surveillance for two days, obtained a search warrant and arrested Moore and Nicholas A. Taylor, 18, who had been renting the room with Turner, on an unrelated county Superior Court bench warrant, Moores said.
Detectives recovered a BB pistol, a rifle, burglary tools and stolen jewelry and property, Moores said.
Turner was later arrested at a residence on East Lauridsen Boulevard.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
