(11:32 AM UPDATE: We have added the KCPAO’s news release, including information on charges against the youngest suspect, to the end of this story. In it, Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg makes the same points that Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes made in a story published on WSB yesterday – he says regulation is vital, and without it, the current unregulated proliferation “invites violence”)
ORIGINAL 10:01 AM STORY: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges in the Saturday night armed robbery at West Seattle medical-marijuana dispensary G.A.M.E. Collective. 
We are expecting additional information from KCPAO this morning but so far, court documents obtained online indicate the adult suspect, 24-year-old Donshae Dwayne Sims of Northgate (state Department of Corrections photo at right), is charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and first-degree unlawful firearm possession (he’s a convicted felon, from an earlier assault case). The older juvenile suspect, 16-year-old Malik Heckard of Des Moines, is charged as an adult – which is why we are publishing his name, though otherwise we generally will not use juvenile suspects’ names – with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and second-degree unlawful firearm possession. Information on the other juvenile suspect’s status is not available through the online court-records system, so we are waiting to hear from prosecutors.
Accompanying the charging documents is more information on how investigators say the heist unfolded (beyond what was contained in probable-cause documents made public on Monday and transcribed in our followup):
The narrative says the three suspects were “loitering” outside the business when the owner came out to ask what they were doing. They said they were “waiting for (their) aunt.” The owner asked if they had a medical-marijuana card, because if they did not, they could not enter the business. They entered anyway a few minutes later and began to ask “Where’s the bud?” When the dispensary’s owner told them they could not be inside, the narrative says, all three “pulled out semi-automatic pistols.” Sims allegedly closed the blinds so no one could see inside, and Heckard allegedly hit a dispensary employee in the head with his gun after forcing that employee to take cash out of the register. By that point, the narrative says, an audible alarm had been set off by a nearby business owner who heard what was happening; that reportedly panicked the robbers, who said, “We gotta get to the car.”
The story from there unfolded much the same way it was told in Monday’s probable-cause documents (reported here). The subsequent arrest saga has a few additional details – such as, police say Sims and Heckard confessed to the robbery, but the younger juvenile claimed he left before it happened. When arrested, the narrative says, Heckard was in possession of $401 in cash, the dispensary owner’s wallet, and a marijuana-smoking pipe. A surveillance video from a nearby business shows all three suspects were seen arriving in the area together.
Again, we’ll add additional information when it’s received from prosecutors, including arraignment dates. The robbery and burglary charges both include firearm enhancements, which means additional time if they are convicted. Besides the aforementioned assault conviction for Sims, the documents mention that Heckard’s record has a “diversion for attempted residential burglary” in 2007. Both remain in jail, according to the King County Jail Register.
ADDED 11:32 AM: News release from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office:
A man and two teenagers have been charged with Robbery First Degree, Burglary First Degree and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm Second Degree for allegedly robbing a medical-marijuana dispensary in West Seattle on March 19. Donshae D. Sims, 24, faces a sentence range of 15 to 17 years in prison, and Malik D. Heckard, 16, who is charged as an adult, faces a range of 14 to 16 years. The third defendant, who is 15, is charged in Juvenile Court. He could be incarcerated for 3½ to 4½ years at a juvenile facility. The ranges include firearm enhancements on the robbery and burglary charges.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said that the rise in the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in our county and state make them potential targets for violence.
“Medical cannabis dispensaries have evolved to fill a gap in the law that does not provide a method for legitimate patients to obtain their medicine. They operate in a legal grey area and are largely unregulated as to time, place and manner of operation. They are also an obvious target for robbery because of the presence of cash and drugs.”
“We are very lucky that this armed takeover robbery did not result in death or injury, but it highlights the urgent need for legislative policy makers to establish clear guidelines for the medical use of cannabis,” Satterberg said. “In my view, if cannabis dispensaries are to be permitted, they should operate with strict requirements of security to protect their customers, and outside of residential areas to protect our neighborhoods. The present proliferation of dispensaries throughout the community will continue to invite criminal violence,” he added.
Sims and Heckard will be arraigned on April 4 at 9 a.m. at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center, courtroom GA. The juvenile defendant will have a decline hearing in two weeks where a judge will decide whether the youth should be tried as an adult. An adult conviction carries a sentence similar to that of Sims and Heckard. All three defendants remain in custody.
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