A 24-year-old Anacortes man was arrested Monday night after allegedly robbing a cannabis shop at gunpoint — the same store he was convicted of robbing back in 2020. Anacortes Police Department officers were dispatched just after 9:15 p.m. after a caller reported that a man armed with a rifle had robbed the shop in the 7600 block of Highway 20. An officer located a man emerging from tall grass and blackberry bushes near Old Brook Lane and South Fidalgo Bay Road within eight minutes of the call.
The suspect, identified by local media as Austin Thomas, told the officer he had merely been “working out” when confronted, according to a police release cited by KPUG. The officer detained the man and checked him for weapons, and investigators say he had minor cuts consistent with walking through blackberry bushes. As reported by goSkagit, the shop involved is located in the 7600 block of Highway 20 in Anacortes — identified by Leafly as Anacortes Cannabis, also known as Anacortes Natural Medicine, at 7656 State Route 20.
K-9 Teams Track Rifle and Backpack Near Robbery Scene
APD K-9 Zeke and Skagit County Sheriff's Office K-9 Fred both searched the area near the blackberry bushes following the arrest. Officers located a .22-caliber rifle and a backpack about 100 yards south of the 1200 block of Scandia Court. Police also found drug paraphernalia and an unopened package of cannabis in the blackberry bushes, per the same goSkagit account.
Investigators determined the detained man wore clothing similar to the suspect seen on security camera footage and matched the physical description witnesses had provided. The man was booked into Skagit County Jail on charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, and second-degree theft, and was held on an investigative hold, the outlet reported.
Same Suspect, Same Store, Six Years Apart
Police say the detained man was previously convicted of robbing the same business in 2020, and that his prior robbery conviction left him under weapons restrictions at the time of the newest robbery — a detail Anacortes police flagged directly to reporters. Under Washington's felon-in-possession statute, RCW 9.41.040, unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree applies specifically when someone with a prior serious felony conviction is later found with a gun, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, according to Black & Askerov.
First-degree robbery itself, under RCW 9A.56.200, is a Class A felony when committed while armed with a deadly weapon or displaying a firearm, carrying a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine up to $50,000, per the same legal analysis. Washington's Persistent Offender Accountability Act also classifies first-degree robbery as a “most serious offense,” meaning a third qualifying violent felony conviction can trigger a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole, according to the Freedman Law Office. It remains unclear whether prosecutors will pursue additional firearm sentencing enhancements or how the earlier 2020 conviction will factor into charging decisions.
Cash-Heavy Dispensaries Remain a Repeat Target Statewide
The Anacortes case fits into a broader pattern of violence against Washington's legal cannabis retailers. Industry groups, including the Washington CannaBusiness Association, have long noted that federal banking restrictions force state-licensed dispensaries to operate largely in cash, making them attractive targets for armed robbery, the Associated Press has reported. Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board data and industry trackers cited by FOX 13 Seattle show the state logged over 80 dispensary robberies in early 2022 alone and roughly 140 store break-ins and armed robberies in 2023.
State lawmakers have tried to respond. In early 2024, legislators introduced Senate Bill 6133 to create a special 12-month sentencing enhancement for armed or vehicle-ramming robberies at licensed cannabis retailers, mirroring protections already given to pharmacies. Regional county councils in Western Washington have also formed specialized Cannabis Safety Task Forces bringing together sheriff's offices, prosecutors, and retail owners to address the rash of dispensary crime, according to the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber.
Locally, siting rules requiring a 1,000-foot buffer zone between cannabis retailers and sensitive uses have limited where new dispensaries can open in Anacortes, effectively grandfathering in the established shops along the Highway 20 corridor, according to Anacortes Town Council records. Whether Thomas was under any form of post-release supervision at the time of Monday's robbery, and how much cash or product was taken, remain open questions police have not yet addressed publicly.
