A 23-year-old Kent man pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of first-degree robbery in connection with robberies in October and November at Key Bank branches in Redmond and Bellevue.
Jason Thomas Achurra entered the plea at the King County Courthouse in Seattle. He also pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Achurra was not allowed to possess a weapon because he had a prior robbery conviction and used an AK-47 assault rifle during one of the four robberies.
Prosecutors will recommend a prison sentence of 15 years, nine months when Achurra is scheduled to be sentenced March 9 before King County Superior Court Judge Mariane Spearman. Achurra remains at the county jail in Seattle. Bail was set at $300,000 after his Nov. 24 booking.
According to charging papers, Achurra jumped over the teller counter in each case. Here is a recap of the four robberies:
• Oct. 11, Bellevue
Achurra’s first robbery was Oct. 11 at a Bellevue branch along 156th Avenue Northeast. He wore a mask, leaped over a teller counter and pointed what looked to be a handgun at a teller. Achurra emptied cash drawers and fled. Police found an Airsoft pistol, not a firearm, on the bank floor that reportedly was used during the robbery.
A state Department of Corrections officer saw a photo of the man cameras caught during the robbery and recognized him as Achurra, who he supervised for first-degree robbery and kidnapping. At the time of the robbery, Achurra lived about a mile from the bank with his mother and stepfather.
• Nov. 7, Bellevue
Two masked men, one armed with an assault rife and Achurra armed with a pistol, entered the Key Bank along Factoria Boulevard. They burst into the bank and ordered people to the floor. Achurra jumped over a teller counter.
They ordered employees to open the vault, but two employees with the code couldn’t remember it. The vault was never opened. The robbers still made off with a large sum of money from cash drawers.
Achurra was connected as the same man involved in the Oct. 11 robbery because of his appearance and method of operation.
• Nov. 19, Bellevue
Achurra and another man rushed into the same bank as the Nov. 7 robbery. They both had pistols. One of the men ordered an unarmed security guard to the floor. Achurra jumped over the teller counter and confronted employees. He grabbed money from the cash drawers and the two men fled.
The security guard followed them out of the bank and saw them enter a 1990s model sports car that investigators later determined to be a black Chevy Monte Carlo that belonged to Achurra.
• Nov. 23, Redmond
Achurra wore a mask as he entered the Key Bank along Northeast 24th Street. He rushed into the bank, jumped up and over a teller counter and pointed a gun at the teller. He grabbed money from the cash drawer, jumped back over the counter and fled. Investigators found a muddy shoe print left on the teller counter that they later connected to match the soles of Achurra’s shoes.
Redmond Police officers set up a perimeter around the bank and talked to Achurra, but did not have enough at the time to hold him for the robbery. But the officers photographed Achurra and his car, later connecting him with photos from the bank based on the clothes he wore.
Tracking a suspect
Police released photos from the robberies and received a tip Nov. 21 after Achurra entered a Bellevue gun shop and paid cash for more than $700 worth of ammunition for an AK-47 assault rifle.
Investigators used that information to arrest Achurra for unlawful possession of a firearm. A team of officers, detectives and a SWAT team responded to Achurra’s apartment in Kent to arrest him, but he had driven from the apartment before officers arrived.
But Achurra had told a Redmond officer he was going to Moses Lake for the Thanksgiving holiday. Detectives tracked down Achurra at a Moses Lake residence and arrested him.
A search of Achurra’s car found an AK-47 assault rifle, more than 1,200 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, a .40 caliber pistol, a lock box with $2,500 in cash, a ski mask and a Carhart hooded jacket similar to what a robber wore in the Nov. 23 incident.
Investigators later determined that Achurra had worked as a busboy at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle. He was well-liked by staff at the restaurant, so employees raised money for him after he and his parents were evicted from their Factoria home. He worked at the Hard Rock from April to mid-November when he stopped showing up for work.
Since the robberies, investigators determined that Achurra loaned $2,000 in cash to his mother and stepfather in October to help rent a Kent apartment after their home foreclosed; paid $2,000 cash for a Chevy Monte Carlo; bought an engagement ring at Tiffany in Bellevue for his fiance for an unknown amount; purchased a pistol for $800; and bought a $600 set of tires at Les Schwab in Redmond on Nov. 23 after the robbery.
The second man involved in two of the robberies has not been caught.
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