The suspect in two armed robberies of a Clinton gas station is being held in jail on $200,000 bail.
The police officer who arrested Jonathan “Lexzi” Zupan, 24, outside the gas station Monday night likely thwarted a third armed robbery, Island County Deputy Criminal Prosecutor Eric Ohme said in court Tuesday afternoon.
He called Zupan “brazen,” especially since she knew she was already a suspect in the case.
Zupan is being held on suspicion of two counts of robbery in the first degree, possibly with firearms enhancements that could add an automatic 10 years to any sentence.
In arguing against a high bail, Zupan’s attorney, Cassandra Andres, told the judge her client will need to continue hormone therapy and other medication while in jail.
The suspect had been described as a man in witness accounts released by the Island County Sheriff’s Office. A police report describes her as a transgender woman.
Just after 10 p.m. Monday, Langley Police Officer Mason Shoudy was driving on Langley Road behind Naomi’s Mobil gas station and saw a vehicle with no lights on parked on a dirt road that accesses the parking lot. Shoudy approached the vehicle on foot and recognized it as being associated with Zupan, who was a “person of interest” in the case.
Shoudy noted that Zupan closely resembled the suspect seen in the surveillance video from the robberies; he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt that matched the one the suspect wore, according to the police report.
Officers looked inside the car and saw a black jacket and a handgun, which was partially obscured under the front seat. Both appeared to be the same as the ones seen in the surveillance video from the robberies, the report states.
Officers obtained a search warrant and recovered a gun and clothing used in both robberies, the sheriff’s office reported.
Investigators believe the armed robber struck the gas station twice, once on Halloween night and then on Nov. 12. In both cases, a suspect in a puffy coat brandished a long-barreled revolver and demanded money from the clerk, the sheriff’s office reported.
The robber got away with less than $200 at each robbery.
Image provided Police arrested a suspect in two armed robberies. The suspect resembles the robber seen in surveillance video.
Image provided Police arrested a suspect in two armed robberies. The suspect resembles the robber seen in surveillance video.
