Man charged in pawn shop robberies in South King Co.

Published 5:14 pm Monday, February 23, 2026

A Renton man was charged with three counts of robbery for three incidents where he robbed pawn shops in Auburn, Renton and Burien.

On Feb. 19, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Jesus Luis Uriostegui, 26, of Renton, with three counts of first-degree robbery. These charges stem from three separate incidents in October 2025, December 2025, and February 2026, where Uriostegui is accused of entering Cash America Pawn locations, breaking glass cases, and stealing over $90,000 worth of jewelry.

According to the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention jail lookup portal, Uriostegui is being held at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.

The Renton incident

According to charging documents, on Oct. 24, 2025, officers with the Renton Police Department responded to a robbery at Cash America Pawn located at 225 Sunset Boulevard N. The suspect, later identified as Uriostegui, was described as a light-skinned male in his 30s, wearing a bright yellow jacket, black-rimmed eyeglasses, a surgical mask, black pants and carrying a gray bag.

Uriostegui was buzzed into the store at approximately 6:31 p.m., and once inside, he placed a door jam to prevent the front door from closing. Uriostegui then produced a large gray rusty hammer and began striking the jewelry display cases on the north side of the store.

Uriostegui took about 12 necklaces worth $6,980, then dropped the hammer before fleeing the store. According to documents, Uriostegui was seen arriving at the Cash America Pawn in a vehicle registered to his father. Additionally, Uriostegui’s phone records placed him at the store on Oct. 13 and Oct. 18, and at the same time that the robbery occurred.

The Auburn incident

According to documents, at approximately 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 2025, at the Cash America Pawn located at 2236 Auburn Way N, in Auburn, store employees reported that Uriostegui was buzzed into the store wearing a face covering. Uriostegui was then asked to take off the face covering before he produced a mini sledgehammer and threatened an employee.

According to documents, Uriostegui then smashed a jewelry display case and removed various items before fleeing in a gray Ford Fusion from about 2010 to 2012 with no license plate and fuzzy white dice on the rearview mirror. Uriostogi is accused of stealing 46 jewelry items worth over $60,000. Documents state that he was seen on video the day before the robbery, entering the store and then recording display cases with his phone, which is behavior consistent with pre-offense casing.

The Burien incident

Documents state that then, at approximately 4:53 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Cash America Pawn at 15421 First Avenue S. in Burien, Uriostegui arrived in the vehicle registered to his father. The car had no plates, but still had a distinctive sticker seen at a previous robbery. Uriostegui then entered the store, struck multiple glass cases with a mini sledgehammer and stole numerous items. Blood that officers took in as evidence was left behind as Uriostegui reached into the display cases bare-handed after there was glass in the cases due to the glass being broken.

According to documents, when Uriostegui attempted to leave the store, an employee tried to hold the doors shut, but Uriostegui pushed them open and made contact with the employee.

The arrest

Documents state that on Feb. 17, Uriostegui was at the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, a place he is known to frequent. Officers arrested Uriostegui, and officers found that he arrived in his father’s vehicle, which he had been seen driving during robberies in the past.

When Uriostegui was arrested, officers observed cuts on his hands that appeared recent and were consistent with him cutting his hands when he was robbing the Cash America Pawn in Burien on Feb. 14.