Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
PULLMAN — Two nineteen-year-old males were arrested and booked into the Whitman County Jail for first-degree robbery and four counts of second-degree robbery on Saturday, July 1.
Frank Alexander Rodriguez, 19, of Richland, remains in Whitman County Jail after a request for an extraordinary bond was approved in court as reports say Rodriguez poses an extreme risk to the Pullman and Whitman County communities because of his involvement in the unprovoked attack of five members of the Washington State University (WSU) and Pullman Community.
Rodriguez was arrested along with another Richland man, Robert Ivan Garcia, 19, who was arrested and booked on the same charges.
Rodriguez appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants at his arrest but was reported to be cooperative.
WSU Police Officer Aaron Land arrested Rodriguez at 3:59 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, at 1920 NE Terre View Drive. It wasn’t until the following day that WSU Sergeant Kelly Stewart arrested Garcia at his residence at 4 p.m.
“I performed a knock and announce to announce our presence,” Stewart said. “Shortly after, I could hear movement in the apartment and a male I recognized as Robert I. Garcia exited the residence with his hands up.”
Lang reportedly received a message from dispatch of a robbery at 1401 NE Merman Drive: Terrace Apartments: Unit G703 at 2:50 a.m.
“I heard Sergeant Harris of PPD [Pullman Police Department] call out with three males near the Ruckus North Apartments, and shortly after, he advised that he was in a foot pursuit with them through the Ruckus North Apartments,” Lang said. “I diverted, and as I was arriving, he advised that the males hopped a chain link fence, and he was no longer in afoot pursuit, and he didn’t need help.”
Lang reportedly contacted the five males residing at unit G703, Md Monzurul I Anoy, Akm N. Haque, Mohammad M. Hoque, Abrar A. Abrir, and Nishad Muhammed.
Mohammed allegedly told Lang that he and the other males, his friends, were outside their apartment at 2:45 a.m. smoking cigarettes. They were in the parking lot area north of building G, where they live, standing in the asphalt driving area approximately 150 feet from the G unit.
While standing there, Mohammed told Lang they saw three males walking toward them. One male was described as Latin, approximately 6 feet tall, skinny, wearing a black bandana over his hair and a black surgical mask covering his face. The male was also wearing a black jacket with open buttons.
The second subject was described as a white male, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a black jacket and a black surgical mask.
The third and final subject was a 5 foot 6-inch tall Latin man with average weight and a grey or black jacket.
The males allegedly approached Mohammed and his friends and asked for cigarettes. Mohammed stated that he and the others did not want to give a cigarette to the three males, but the three males were persistent.
Haque gave the three men a cigarette, and shortly after, the tall unidentified male, still unidentified by called “RJ,” told Mohammed and his friends that “One of you should step up now and fight me, and if you don’t, ‘we are going to go crazy.’”
Mohammed told Lang that RJ then put his hands in and out of his pockets which made Mohammed and his friends fear that the man had a weapon.
However, it was never implied that RJ had a weapon, and no one reported seeing it on his person. Mohammed further noted that RJ did not make any motions with his hands that would imply he had a weapon or used one of them at that time.
Meanwhile, Anoy had a guitar in a fabric case slung by its straps on his back. RJ reportedly told Rodriguez to take the guitar before telling the men to empty their pockets.
Abir took his phone out of his pocket, and RJ slapped him and took the phone.
RJ and Garcia took the phones from Anoy, Hoque, Abrir, and Muhammed. Rodriquez and the other short man ran south towards the entrance on Merman Drive. Anoy followed the males until he lost sight of them in the shadows near the southwest entrance of the Valley Road Playfields parking lot.
Anoy specified that the men may have dropped the guitar, and they might not have it.
“I asked if there was anything else the three males may have dropped and specified that I saw shoes near the entrance to the Terrace Apartments on Merman, and they said that it was the shoes worn by one of those three unidentified males,” Lang added.
Lang walked to the parking lot where the robbery occurred with Mohammed and his friends.
“We then saw a guitar case in the parking lot roadway area,” he said. “The guitar was broken, and he [Anoy] said that it was not broken at the time the guitar was taken and that he did not see the unidentified males drop and break the guitar.”
Soon after, Sergeant Harriss of PPD advised that he had one male, later identified as Rodriguez, detained in the courtyard of the Ruckus North near building F.
Arriving at the scene, Lang could see Rodriguez in handcuffs, leaning against a building wall in a well-lit area. He matched the description of the suspect reported by Mohammed and his friends.
Anoy, Hoque, and Abrir reported to Lang that Rodriguez was almost a perfect match to the man earlier.
“They said that they recognized the gold chain that he was wearing around his neck at that time,” Lang reported.
While putting Rodriguez in the police cruiser, Lang noticed that he appeared to have a fresh cut on the inside of his left leg near his knee.
“It was approximately 2 inches long and approximately 6 inches from his left knee on his thigh,” Land reported. “This type of injury is common for people who climb chain link fences in shorts.”
While in jail, Rodriguez contacted authorities wanting to identify the other men involved.
“I asked Rodriguez if he would be willing to talk to me regarding this incident, and he told me that he would,” said Stewart.
Rodriguez told Stewart he could identify Garcia, and he knew that Garcia was 19 years old and a WSU student.
“He told me he also lives in the Ruckus North Apartment Complex where he [Rodgriguez] was arrested, but he couldn’t remember the apartment number. He stated it was on the third floor at the top of the stairs on the right,” said Stewart.
Rodriguez told Stewart he rode a Greyhound bus from Richland to Pullman and arrived at 7:30 p.m. on June 30.
“He stated they walked to Garcia’s apartmentment and met up with Garcia’s friend named RJ,” Stewart said.
Rodriguez described RJ as approximately 6-foot-3 inches and Hispanic.
“He told me Garcia was his friend and had never met RJ before,” Stewart added.
Rodriguez told Stewart they walked to the Cougar Corner Mart at the intersection of NE Merman Drive and NE Terre View Drive from Garcia’s apartment. The three purchased a pack of Newport Cigarettes and wine.
Rodriguez told Stewart he believed that RJ paid for the cigarettes and used Rodriguez’s debit card to buy the wine because RJ was the only one above the age of 21. Rodriguez told Stewart that RJ is 23 years old.
Rodriguez added that the three walked back to Garcia’s apartment and proceeded to drink, smoke marijuana and cigarettes, and use ecstasy “Molly.”
“He stated he didn’t know what they were going to do when they left the apartment, but he knew it was going to be something stupid,” Stewart added.
Rodriguez told Stewart that the three men started walking towards the males smoking on Garden Avenue. He added that RJ wanted to fight one of them. Rodriguez reported that RJ approached the men and seemed casual and friendly. However, after asking one of the men to fight him and receiving no response, RJ punched one of the men in the face.
After taking the cell phone, Rodgriguez told Stewart he had no memory of the guitar.
“I asked Rodriguez about who took the guitar, and he told me he wasn’t sure who took the guitar and couldn’t remember a guitar being taken because he wanted to get out of there,” said Stewart.
Rodriguez added to his statement by telling Stewart that he did not touch anyone or take anything from anyone.
After the knock and announcement to arrest Garcia, Stewart located a box of equate black surgical masks in Garcia’s closet.
“I also located an individual mask in the desk drawer of his room, and I located two 75-count boxes of black surgical masks in the living room under a round table,” Steward said.
Following the search, Garcia was booked on robbery in the 1st degree and four counts of robbery in the 2nd degree.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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