Bail has been set at $5 million for two teenagers accused of murdering a worker at a Toledo area Shell station during an attempted robbery on Wednesday, May 3.
Court documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday, May 5, identified the victim as 30-year-old Navjot Singh.
Two of the suspects, identified as Taylor K. Lenihan, 16, and Quinton M. Ramey, 17, both of Redding, California, were charged as adults in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday with one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
While The Chronicle normally doesn’t identify juvenile suspects, their identities were widely released in social media posts by the Lane County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, where they were being pursued for earlier crimes, and two of them are being charged as adults.
Surveillance footage of the Shell station reportedly shows Singh restocking shelves when, at approximately 8:46 p.m. on May 3, two individuals wearing masks and gloves entered the store. One individual was reportedly wearing a light-colored T-shirt and holding “a long gun with an extended magazine,” while the other was wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and holding “a bag and flex-cuffs,” according to court documents.
The individual holding the gun reportedly pointed the gun at Singh, who is then seen walking toward the cash register.
Singh then reportedly “turns his back towards the gunman and starts to struggle over the firearm,” according to court documents.
The struggle moved offscreen, but the surveillance camera reportedly captured footage of the individual in the hoodie “point(ing) something towards the struggle” before both individuals ran out of the store, got into a white Dodge truck with a temporary license plate and camping gear in the bed and then drove off.
A separate camera from the parking lot reportedly showed the truck pull into the parking lot from the west at 8:45 p.m. on May 3, roll through the parking lot, circle a second time, stop and reverse before the two individuals exit the vehicle and go into the store.
At about 8:49 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, Lewis County 911 received a call from a passerby indicating they saw two masked individuals running out of a store in the 100 block of Mulford Road.
The caller also reported the two individuals left in a white, extended-cab Dodge pickup truck and said their actions “appeared suspicious,” according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were dispatched at approximately 8:52 p.m. on May 3.
Court documents identify the first-arriving officer as Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew G. Scrivner, who got to the scene at approximately 9:11 p.m.
When he arrived, Scrivner was “advised there was a person down, not breathing” and he “immediately requested aid units and detectives,” according to court documents. Scrivner stated he believed Singh had suffered a shotgun wound to the chest.
Medical aid arrived and declared Singh deceased at 9:27 p.m. on May 3, according to court documents.
Scrivner reportedly took preliminary photographs, started a crime scene log and secured the scene while waiting for additional units to arrive.
Meanwhile, the store’s manager contacted 911 dispatch and advised he was en route from Vancouver.
A detective arrived at approximately 10:10 p.m. on May 3 and documented the scene, including a spent red shotgun casing beside Sighn’s body.
The detective was able to access the store’s security footage once the manager arrived, according to court documents.
Detectives were continuing to process the scene on Thursday, May 4, and requested assistance from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab Response Team, according to a news release.
At about 12:20 p.m. on Thursday, a Florence, Oregon law enforcement agency contacted the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to report “its belief the vehicle and suspects involved in the Toledo area death potentially matched an incident there,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
“They further advised the vehicle and suspects involved in their incident had been located by authorities with the Sumner Police Department and were currently in custody,” the sheriff’s office reported.
Three juveniles, a 15-year-old male, Lenihan and Ramey, were arrested in Sumner just after 12:55 a.m. on Thursday, May 4, for alleged possession of stolen property after law enforcement identified their vehicle, which matched the description of the vehicle seen fleeing the Shell station, as stolen out of California.
In the back seat of the car was “a long gun” that matched the description of a firearm used during the Toledo robbery, according to court documents.
“Detectives were able to contact the Sumner Police Department and were able to confirm the vehicle, firearm and suspect information were consistent with the homicide investigation occurring in Lewis County,” according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
All three suspects were contacted by Lewis County detectives and were transported to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.
The charging documents specify that Lenihan and Ramey have accomplice liability for several of the charges, including the first-degree murder charges, which means they “acted as the principal and/or as the accomplice of another person in the commission of the crime,” according to court documents.
First-degree attempted robbery is a class A felony, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Accomplice liability first-degree murder is a class B felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The third juvenile, the 15-year-old male, was “dealt with” in Lewis County Juvenile Court on Friday, according to court personnel. Juvenile court records are protected under state law and are not publicly available.
When asking for the high bail amounts for Lenihan and Ramey on Friday, Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead cited concerns about the allegations of the current case as well as the Oregon crimes and the suspects’ lack of ties to the community.
Judge J. Andrew Toynbee echoed Halstead’s concerns when he agreed to set bail at $5 million.
Toynbee also granted an order for DNA testing of both suspects.
Halstead also expressed concerns Friday about the two suspects communicating inside the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, asking for them to be transferred to the Lewis County Jail.
While a hearing on that matter will likely take place next week, Toynbee issued orders prohibiting the two suspects from having any contact with each other and the third juvenile.
Defense attorney Don Blair, who represents Lenihan, said he clearly explained to her that she is to have no contact with either of the other two juveniles.
Lenihan and Ramey both have arraignment hearings scheduled for Thursday, May 11.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information on the case to contact the sheriff’s office at 360-748-9286 or contact Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
