Fifth suspect charged in Wal-Mart robbery; suspects may be responsible for other heists

TACOMA — Prosecutors Friday charged a fifth suspect in connection with the fatal robbery at a suburban Tacoma Wal-Mart earlier this week, alleging the teenage woman — the girlfriend of one of the primary suspects — helped him to avoid justice after the crime and later lied to police.

Brittney Marie Maas-Baines, 18, of Tacoma, now faces first-degree felony charges of rendering criminal assistance and obstructing a law enforcement officer. She is being held at the Pierce County Jail.

Maas-Baines "did unlawfully, willfully and feloniously render criminal assistance to Marshawn Turpin, a person who committed or was being sought for Aggravated Murder in the First Degree," Mark Lindquist, the chief criminal deputy for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, wrote in charging papers.

Also Friday, police said they now believe at least some of the five suspects charged in the fatal Wal-Mart robbery may be responsible for as many as eight recent strong-armed robberies at fast food restaurants, auto parts retailers and other businesses in Western Washington.

Some victims of those previous robberies have since come forward to identify at least some of the Wal-Mart suspects as the same people who'd robbed them, authorities say.

"Obviously, someone who is willing to walk in and shoot someone in the head for a bag of money, then go have dinner at the Red Lobster, probably ain't above taking down some kids who work at a Kentucky Fried Chicken," said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

"Multiple agencies are now looking at these suspects, including us."

On Thursday, prosecutors filed charges against four of the suspects in connection with the robbery and shooting that left Loomis armored-car guard Kurt Husted dead inside the Wal-Mart in Lakewood, a suburb south of Tacoma.

Lindquist said police were able to round up the first four suspects within about 24 hours of the robbery because law-enforcement officers received a "flood of tips" and because the defendants made critical mistakes, including being caught on surveillance camera.

Calvin Finley, 35, a felon with a history of assault and domestic violence who is alleged to have fired the fatal gunshot, was charged with aggravated first-degree murder, first-degree murder, robbery, assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Turpin, 20, was charged with aggravated first-degree murder, first-degree murder, robbery and assault.

Aggravated first-degree murder is punishable by life in prison without parole or by death. Prosecutors have 30 days to determine whether they will seek the death penalty against one or both men, Lindquist said.

Finley and Turpin are being held in Pierce County Jail on $5 million bail each.

Prosecutors also charged Tonie Marie Williams-Irby, 42, and her boyfriend, Odies Delandus Walker, 41, of University Place, with first-degree murder and robbery. They are each being held on $2 million bail.

Williams-Irby, a Wal-Mart employee, allegedly began planning the robbery a month in advance with Walker, who served as the getaway driver, police said. They later recruited Finley and Turpin to join the heist.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Maas-Baines was arrested Thursday evening at her Tacoma apartment, after the first four suspects already had been arraigned. Authorities said Friday she helped her boyfriend, Turpin, avert justice after the crime.

"She was initially interviewed and denied knowing anything," Lakewood Police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said. "Subsequent investigation revealed she was aware of this crime and provided assistance to [Turpin] after it was committed."

Specifically, Hoffman said the woman "provided him transportation out of the area and spent the whole afternoon with him" after the fatal robbery on Tuesday.

According to charging papers, Maas-Baines owns the Nissan Maxima that Turpin drove to the Wal-Mart just before the robbery.

When police interviewed Maas-Baines after SWAT officers arrested Turpin at the couple's Tacoma apartment on Wednesday, she allegedly told investigators she and Turpin had woke up Tuesday morning "like a normal day," charging papers say.

Prosecutors allege Maas-Baines told police Turpin then took her car for the day, and later, when he returned home that night, she never suspected he was involved in the fatal robbery.

"Everything was normal," she allegedly told police. "Police were skeptical, but they allowed (Maas Baines) to leave the police station," court papers say.

Later, after Turpin allegedly confessed to investigators about his part in the crime, he told police Maas-Baines was aware of his involvement and had picked him up in her Nissan in Auburn after the fatal heist.

After re-interviewing Maas-Baines on Thursday, police said she changed her story. She now told them that she'd driven Turpin around for several hours after the robbery, though she still claimed she knew nothing about his involvement in the crime, charging papers say.

When a detective asked Maas-Baines, `Why did you lie yesterday,' she allegedly started yelling.

"I lied to protect him," charging papers quote her as responding to the question.

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Prosecutors said police have recovered about $40,000 of the $60,000 in cash that was estimated to be in the money bags. There was an additional $140,000 in checks that have not yet been recovered, Lindquist said.

After the robbery, Finley went to a hotel in Fife, Turpin went to his girlfriend's house and Williams-Irby and Walker enjoyed a $175 dinner at Red Lobster, according to court documents.

A former girlfriend of Finley's broke down in tears during Thursday's arraignment but said it wasn't because she felt sorry for the father of her child.

Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said Friday that it's possible more suspects may emerge in the case.

"The investigation remains ongoing," Hoffman said. "It's possible more names may pop up."

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Authorities in Pierce, King and Thurston counties are also investigating the possibility that some of the suspects were involved in several other violent "takedown"-style robberies, said Troyer, the Pierce County sheriff's spokesman.

"These were bad crimes," Troyer said. "Just bad. Way over the top, more than they needed to be bad.

"Like running into a Kentucky Fried Chicken with guns, jumping over the counter, tying [employees] up and threatening to kill them."

Troyer said during some of those crimes, the robbers "could've gotten away with what they wanted without all the Hollywood stuff."

Although the suspects in those crimes generally wore masks or otherwise concealed their faces, Troyer said some victims have since told police they recognize the Wal-Mart robbers as the same people who robbed them. Police drawings from some of the previous robberies also fit the description of some of the Wal-Mart suspects, he added.

"Obviously, these people fit the bill," Troyer said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com