Cannabis retailers have been dealing with an increasing number of robberies in recent months, and last week saw multiple such incidents take a deadly turn.
Three separate robbery-related fatalities were reported on the west side over a four-day span. Two of the three killed were suspects in attempted armed robberies, while the third was a dispensary employee. These deaths come as dispensaries around the state have been dealing with a surge in crime targeting their businesses.
Last month, the Washington Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 5927, which would add a year to the sentence of anyone convicted of first or second-degree robbery of a cannabis retailer. The bill was introduced in January, as the wave of robberies was growing. However, it did not make it through the House before the annual legislative session ended on March 10.
In the days after the bill was introduced, Seattle's KING-TV reported that there had been more than 30 incidents of violent crimes targeting dispensaries in Washington between November and January.
The first deadly robbery last week took place at a Bellevue dispensary on Wednesday, March 16. Three suspects fled, and police tracked them to a neighborhood in south Seattle. Two of the three surrendered but a third engaged in a standoff. Seattle police say that suspect opened fire on law enforcement, who then returned fire, killing the suspect.
A day later in Covington, a suburb southwest of Seattle, an armed suspect attempted to rob the Euphorium dispensary and took an employee hostage. The suspect was fatally shot by the dispensary's armed security guard. Employing armed security guards at dispensaries is recommended by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis board.
Then on Sunday, an employee at World of Weed in Tacoma was shot and killed by an assailant during an armed robbery, according to the Tacoma Police Department.
In the days following the fatal armed robberies, the Washington State Treasurer's Office has been increasing its calls for cannabis banking reforms, which at the federal level have repeatedly stalled out in Congress. Because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, and federal banking reforms have not been enacted, many financial institutions are wary of getting involved with the industry. As a result, experts believe dispensaries are being targeted by criminals in large part due to their cash-dependent business model. ♦
