3 Auburn suspects charged in convenience store robberies

King County prosecutors have charged two men and a teenage from Auburn in connection with six "takeover-style" robberies at gas station conveniences stores in King County.

Prosecutors on Friday each charged Christopher J. Manning, 24, and Bao Quoc Ly, 23, with six counts of first-degree robbery. Joseph M. Campbell, 16, was charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree robbery.

The three are being held in jail in lieu of $300,000.

They are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 25 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

King County Sheriff's detectives, with assistance from Auburn police and other law enforcement agencies, arrested the trio Tuesday in connection with several convenience stores robberies in the area over the last two weeks.

 

Robberies occurred in Federal Way, Maple Valley, Covington and Bothell, beginning with the Federal Way robberies on July 25.

The three suspects were arrested without incident, and a search warrant was served on the Auburn apartment of one of the suspects. Evidence was recovered during the search.

The Sheriff's office says tips from the public due to extensive TV coverage helped detectives zero in on the suspects, although additional investigation was needed. In addition, the up-to $1,000 reward offered by CrimeStoppers was believed to be a significant motivation for the tipsters, authorities said.

"This investigation was an excellent example of a multi-jurisdictional investigation", said Sheriff Sue Rahr. "I especially want to thank the Auburn Police Department for their significant help, even though the suspects didn't commit a robbery in their city. Everybody worked together to put some very dangerous people in jail."

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