New information about the Admiral 7-11 robbery attempt we covered last weekend, which was quickly followed by the arrest of three suspects who police believe were involved with a series of holdups, mostly at convenience stores, in West Seattle and White Center (among other areas) over the past month: First, to be clear, as we originally reported, court documents indicate it was a robbery attempt; no money was taken and the would-be robber fled when the clerk ran into the restroom and called police. Two charges are now filed against the suspect who authorities say actually tried to rob the store, 18-year-old Jose G. Torres: He is charged with first-degree attempted robbery and unlawful gun possession – charging papers say he had a 38-caliber handgun but shouldn’t have, since he was already a convicted felon. The following excerpt from charging papers tells the story of what happened early Sunday morning – including an explanation of how police made the arrests so quickly:

On the evening of 01-03-2009 SPD officers implemented a stakeout in the West Seattle area in an effort to catch and apprehend the suspect(s) should they strike again.

On 01-04-2009 at about 0137 hours an attempted robbery occurred at the 7-11 … The suspect entered the store and pointed the gun but fled the store without getting any money. The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance system. Officers immediately flooded the area, including K-9 Officer Downing and his dog Jack. K-9 Officer Downing was nearby and was first to arrive on scene. He immediately started tracking in the direction the suspect was last seen running.

The dog tracked two blocks to an alley in the 4400 block of SW College Street. There Officer Downing looked N/B in the alley and saw a small black truck facing SB. The truck was parked and occupied and Officer Downing observed a person quickly jump into the passenger seat. K-9 dog Jack continued tracking N/B toward the truck when the truck moved forward toward their direction. As the truck drove closer officer Downing could see that the truck was occupied by three Hispanic males. At about 0145 hours, with the assistance of additional patrol units, a “felony stop” was made on the 1990 Ford pickup truck … The three occupants were taken into custody … Through the open door of the truck, a black handgun, bandana and knit cap could be seen in plain view near the middle of the floorboard.

The court documents go on to say that all three suspects were taken to SPD Headquarters downtown and placed in “separate holding rooms.” An officer brought a copy of the surveillance video from the store. It showed that the clothing worn by the would-be robber matched what Torres was wearing. According to the documents, while being questioned by three detectives, Torres “admitted that he attempted to rob the 7-11 but changed his mind shortly after entering the store.” He also said the three suspects are affiliated with a gang.

Suspect Irvin Valenzuela-Lopez, according to the court papers, “admitted that the truck belonged to him” but changed his story multiple times about how he knew or didn’t know the other two, and said he knew nothing about the gun found in the truck.

When the truck was searched, police say they found that 38-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, and that it was “loaded,” with additional bullets in a box behind the truck’s “cab seat.” They also recovered a bandana, cap, gloves, and a pair of binoculars.

We are checking back with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on the status of charges against Valenzuela-Lopez and the third suspect, Esgar Villegas-Luna. Online records show Torres is still in jail, with bail set at $100,000, but Valenzuela-Lopez and Villegas-Luna are listed as both no longer in the King County Jail as of just before 8 pm last night. ADDED 12:47 PM: Just spoke with Prosecuting Attorney spokesperson Dan Donohoe; he says those two had to be released because there wasn’t enough information to file charges within 72 hours as required by law, but investigators are continuing to work on that, as well as other potential charges in the other recent robberies. Torres is expected in court January 21st to answer the two charges in the 7-11 robbery.