Prosecutors say two residents were confronted at gunpoint and about $1,500 and a small safe were taken.
TACOMA, Wash — Pierce County prosecutors say three men have been charged in connection with a Feb. 27 armed home invasion in Tacoma in which two residents were confronted at gunpoint and about $1,500 in cash and a small safe were taken.
According to court documents, Jesus Jose Zubia Jr., David Leroy Willis and Lester Robert Hansen are all charged in the case.
Zubia and Hansen each face charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and unlawful imprisonment. Willis is charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.
The robbery happened at a home on East G Street in Tacoma, according to court documents.
Investigators said two residents were inside when two armed men entered, forced one of them out of a bedroom and demanded money.
The men then took cash from a desk and a small safe from a bedroom closet before leaving.
Investigators said home surveillance video showed a green 1998 Dodge Durango back into the driveway before two men got out and went to the front door.
One of the men appeared to pull a handgun from his hoodie pocket as he entered, and video later showed a suspect leaving with the safe under his arm.
Court records say Willis came under scrutiny after officers found the Durango in Lakewood.
Detectives later wrote that Willis was not the same person seen on surveillance as the suspect in the home, but prosecutors say he helped provide the vehicle used in the robbery.
Investigators said Willis told officers he met a man he knew as “Grumpy” and another man near 72nd and Golden Given so they could test-drive the SUV, but detectives later found phone evidence they said showed he knowingly went there to help.
Willis was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail and is currently out on bail.
Detectives said they identified Zubia as “Grumpy” after tracing the phone number Willis gave them, reviewing booking photos and comparing a neck tattoo to surveillance images.
Court records say both residents later identified Zubia in a photo montage as the shorter of the two suspects.
Zubia was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail on March 16.
Hansen was charged later. In court documents, detectives said they found a phone number that had been in contact with both Zubia and Willis and linked it to Hansen.
They also said Crime Stoppers tips named “Lester” and pointed investigators to a Puyallup address tied to the investigation.
Detectives wrote that Hansen’s phone moved with Zubia’s for hours before the robbery, showed data near 72nd and Golden Given shortly before it happened and later reconnected with Zubia’s phone afterward.
Investigators said Hansen’s build matched the masked suspect seen on surveillance, though they could not confirm his identity from video alone because the suspect wore a mask.
Hansen was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail on Thursday.
To ensure diverse coverage and expert insight across a wide range of topics, our publication features contributions from multiple staff writers with varied areas of expertise.
