Coach robbery an inside job.

An employee at the Seattle Premium Outlets’ Coach store is among those involved in the May 27 crime, police say. Police became suspicious of Jeremy Jason Laviguer when he dropped his girlfriend off for work Tuesday at the Seattle Premium Outlets. An alert officer spotted Laviguer at the outlet mall driving a white Honda Accord, the vehicle that police suspected was used as a getaway car in the May 27 takeover robbery at the Coach store.

Detectives quickly tracked Laviguer, 26, to a home in Everett. After talking to him, the plot behind the early morning robbery quickly unfolded, officials said. Laviguer was arrested Tuesday. His girlfriend, Lucianna Marie Jones, 22, and Michael W. Hodgen, 26, were placed behind bars Wednesday.

The robbery had occurred before the store opened. Someone rang the bell around 6:30 a.m. for the delivery door at the back of the store. When the manager opened the door, two men rushed in wearing masks and carrying firearms, according to police. One had a handgun and the other had a rifle. The robbers used plastic ties to bind the two employees’ hands, grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash and fled. No one was injured.

Police allege Jones, who worked at the store, mapped out the backroom and showed the men where the safe was kept, according to a police affidavit filed Thursday in Everett District Court. From the outset police believed the holdup was an inside job, Tulalip Police Chief Jay Goss said.

Detective suspected Hodgen’s involvement after checking his MySpace page. A photo showed him holding a handgun similar to the weapon described by the victims.

More than $5,000 cash was found among the three suspects, police said.

The two men allegedly confessed their involvement. Jones invoked her right to remain silent. All three suspects were booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment. The two men were being held in lieu of $75,000 bail, while Jones was ordered held on $50,000 bail.

SOURCE: HeraldNet