A Federal Way man was charged with robbery and attempted robbery after incidents at three tribal casinos and a Shoreline bank in August.
According to a Nov. 13 announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Edgar Oswaldo Gonzalez-Barragan, 32, a Mexican national who resided in Federal Way, was detained and charged with two counts of attempted robbery, one count of robbery and one count of bank robbery. According to the DOJ, Gonzalez-Barragan was arrested by Kent Police just hours after he allegedly robbed the U.S. Bank branch in Shoreline. He was formally charged on Nov. 6, according to court documents.
According to the DOJ, the Shoreline robbery was the last in a string of robberies or attempted robberies that began in August. On Aug. 1, Gonzalez-Barragan allegedly brandished a silver handgun when he approached the cashier window at the Tulalip Quil Ceda Creek Casino and demanded money from the till.
According to documents, the cashier pressed the panic button and refused to hand over any money despite Gonzalez-Barragan’s threat to shoot guests. Gonzalez-Barragan then ran from the scene.
Two days later, on Aug. 3, Gonzalez-Barragan was identified as the person who robbed the Silver Reef Casino on the Lummi Nation Indian Reservation in Ferndale. Documents state that Gonzalez-Barragan again used a silver handgun to demand cash from the cashier, then fled on foot. In that case, Gonzalez-Barragan received about $18,000 from the robbery.
On Aug. 9, Gonzalez-Barragan attempted an armed robbery at the Little Creek Casino on Squaxin Tribal land in Shelton. Documents state that Gonzalez-Barragan approached the casino’s supervisor station, removed a handgun from his pack and demanded money. After the employee he held at gunpoint said there was no cash, Gonzalez-Barragan fled the scene.
Documents state that later that day, Riverside Fire reported that a “jaws of life” device valued at $12,000 was stolen from one of its fire engines. Surveillance footage captured Gonzalez-Barragan stealing the device from the fire engine.
Video footage captured Gonzalez-Barragan fleeing the scene of the “jaws of life” theft in a vehicle belonging to his mother, documents state. According to documents, video footage captured Gonzalez-Barragan’s mother’s vehicle near the scene of the Tulalip Quil Ceda Creek Casino attempted robbery, and the Little Creek Casino attempted robbery around the same time those incidents occurred.
Documents state that at about 4 p.m. Aug. 11, Gonzalez-Barragan walked into the U.S. Bank in Shoreline, approached the teller and demanded money. The teller stated that she heard a loud noise hit the counter, causing her to believe Gonzalez-Barragan had a weapon. Documents state that the teller was scared, so she did not include the dye packs or tracker in the money she gave to Gonzalez-Barragan.
“The teller removed $1,500 from the cash register drawer and handed it to Gonzalez-Barragan,” documents state. “Gonzalez-Barragan said, ‘Sorry about that,’ took the money, and walked out of the bank.”
On Aug. 11, the same day as the Shoreline U.S. bank robbery, Kent Police located Gonzalez-Barragan driving his mother’s vehicle. An officer initiated a traffic stop and placed Gonzalez-Barragan under arrest without incident. Documents state that Gonzalez-Barragan was wearing the same clothes as when he robbed the bank. Gonzalez-Barragan stated that he swallowed an unknown drug before officers arrested him, so officers took him to the hospital before placing him in jail. According to documents, at the hospital, an officer observed that Gonzalez-Barragan was wearing makeup to cover up tattoos on his neck and arm.
Officers searched Gonzalez-Barragan’s mother’s car and located a handgun, makeup application sponges, makeup and clothing that Gonzalez-Barragan wore during the attempted Little Creek Casino robbery. Documents state that Gonzalez-Barragan’s cellphone data showed that his phone was at the same location as each robbery.
According to documents, the day of the Aug. 9 attempted robbery, Gonzalez-Barragan texted his girlfriend and told her that he was close to making them a “whole bunch” of money, and he said that they were going to get married. In other text messages, Gonzalez-Barragan said that he was paranoid after his friend was killed, and he feared that every car that pulled up next to him was going to kill him. In other text messages, he stated that he was trying to get a gun, and he discussed money and methamphetamine.
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