Snohomish, Skagit Co. deputies investigating early morning gas station robberies

SNOHOMISH, Wash. -- Sheriff deputies in Snohomish and Skagit counties are looking for robbers who targeted gas stations early Wednesday morning. There were three total, but it’s unclear if all three are connected.

According to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, the first robbery happened at about 1:50 a.m. at a gas station on the 21000 block of Cedardale Road in Mt. Vernon. Two male robbers entered the store displaying handguns and took a customer’s wallet and a cash register, according to investigators.

One suspect was wearing a blue jacket over a hooded sweatshirt with a blue bandana covering his face. A second suspect was wearing all black clothing with a hood up and his face covered with a bandana, according to investigators.

They were last seen walking toward Highway 534.

Another robbery happened at about 2:40 a.m. at a 76 gas station on the 16500 block of SR 9, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators said two to four robbers were involved. A gas station employee who was there at the time of the robbery said they all had hoodies on that were tied very tight around their faces, making it hard to identify them, she said.

She also said she kicked one of robbers as they were fleeing, but that another one hit her on the head.

Deputies said they got away in a black SUV.

The employee said they got away with a couple of lottery scratchers and $92.

“We hadn’t had any incidents like this in years. This place is kind of getting crazy out here... It’s kind of been off the hook,” said gas station employee Athena Mycoff.

About ten minutes later, according to witnesses, a third robbery took place off the 9100 block of Paradise Lake Road.

According to investigators, the suspect descriptions of the robberies in Snohomish County match. They describe them as two to four black males who fled in a black SUV.

The clerk at the robbery off Paradise Lake Road tells Q13 that he was cooking in the back of the store when the robbers put a gun to his head and told him to get on the floor.

“It’s scary, somebody put a gun on you. How would you feel? It blew my mind. It happened, it happened,” said employee Ujagar Singh.

According to Singh, the robbers took about $260 from the cash til.

Investigators are working to identify the vehicle and suspects.