A woman who committed two armed robberies of a gas station in Clinton last year was sent to prison Monday.
Jonathan “Lexzi” Zupan, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery in the first degree in Island County Superior Court as part of a plea bargain.
The prosecution and defense made a joint sentencing recommendation of three years and two months in prison. Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill agreed and imposed the sentence.
“I’m very sorry for this incident,” Zupan said in court.
Zupan’s attorney, Margot Carter, said her client is very remorseful for her actions. Zupan told her she had been “extremely high” almost continually during the time of the robberies, Carter said.
Under the conditions of her sentence, Zupan has to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow the recommendation.
Zupan is a transgender woman and goes by the name “Lexzi,” court documents indicate.
Chief Criminal Prosecutor Eric Ohme told the judge that Zupan got a small reduction in the sentence recommendation for taking responsibility by pleading guilty. But the sentence was nearly as long as what Zupan would have faced if the case had gone to trial and she had been convicted of two counts of robbery, he said.
The prosecution wasn’t willing to negotiate for less time, he said, because of the seriousness of the crimes. Zupan brandished an air-powered pistol during the robberies which looked like a real gun, Ohme pointed out.
Zupan robbed Naomi’s Mobil gas station twice, once on Halloween night of 2017 and then on Nov. 12. Zupan demanded money from the clerk and then left.
The police released video footage of the suspect in a puffy coat with what looked like a long-barreled revolver.
On Nov. 20, a Langley Police Officer Mason Shoudy was driving by the gas station and saw a car with no lights on parked on a nearby dirt road.
The officer approached the vehicle on foot and recognized it as being associated with Zupan, who was a “person of interest” in the case.
Shoddy noted that Zupan closely resembled the suspect in the video. He looked inside the car and saw the gun that was later identified as the one used in the robberies.
