Police searching for 'possible robbery suspects' in west Olympia
UPDATE 7 a.m. Wednesday: Three suspects are in custody following an armed robbery early Wednesday at a westside McDonald's. The suspects are linked to Tuesday's robbery and chase through west Olympia, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Police spent Tuesday afternoon searching a large swath of west Olympia for two men suspected of robbing a convenience store in Grand Mound that morning.
According to dispatchers, police responded to reports of a black Mercedes matching the description from Tuesday morning's robbery driving erratically on Capitol Boulevard Southeast near the bridge at Interstate 5 at about 2:30 p.m.
Police chased the car to west Olympia, where it crashed near Division Street Northwest and Muirhead Avenue Northwest, according to police.
Three suspects ran off and police set up a perimeter to search with the help of a K-9. Four nearby schools were temporarily placed on lockout, meaning the outside doors were locked and any students still at school were brought inside, according to Olympia School District.
As of 5 p.m., there were no suspects in custody. Police were investigating several non-injury crashes related to the pursuit.
The Washington State Patrol, Olympia police, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and police from The Evergreen State College all helped with the search.
Two of the men in the car are believed to have put gas in their car and bought Gatorade at a Grand Mound AM/PM convenience store Tuesday morning then returned 20 minutes later to rob the place, according to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
One of the men pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and demanded money from the clerk about 4:20 a.m. Tuesday.
Sgt. Carla Carter said the two likely paid for the gas and Gatorade as way to check out the store before robbing it, she said.
The two suspects are described as African-American men. The man with the gun was last seen wearing a gray hoodie with a Nike symbol on it and blue jeans. The second man was last seen wearing a black hoodie and black pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. George Oplinger at 360-786-5746 or Thurston County dispatch after hours at 360-704-2740.
This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Police searching for 'possible robbery suspects' in west Olympia."