by ROSS COYLE
Sequim Gazette
It took one fake pistol, two robbery attempts, three cars, four people and five hours to pull off a theft that netted $84.
Michelle McNeill will be sentenced later this month for her involvement with Richard Hedrich in the robbery of Kimberly Ciulla at Marlyn Nelson Park last November.
According to information from Clallam County Superior Court, McNeill and Hedrich are accused of robbing Ciulla on Nov. 15, 2012, with assistance from Andrew Luquette and Rebecca Walton.
The report, filed by Detective Sgt. John Keegan, says that Hedrich and Luquette thought up the plan the night of Nov. 14, after Luquette saw a large chunk of cash in Ciulla’s wallet. He and Hedrich then coordinated an elaborate, staged robbery with McNeill to take Ciulla’s wallet the next day.
The scheme involved driving Ciulla, McNeill and Hedrich to the park off Port Williams Road on the evening of Nov. 15 in separate vehicles to meet Luquette at the beach.
The report goes on to state that when they arrived at the park, Hedrich and Ciulla got into McNeill’s car and Hedrich took out a BB gun modified to look like a Taurus 9mm pistol. He told Ciulla to give him her purse, that he planned to rob Luquette and that if either of the women left the car, he would shoot them.
According to the report, this was all set up to get Ciulla’s purse and wallet. When Luquette arrived, Hedrich put on a show of robbing him and took off in Luquette’s car. Knowing that Hedrich had her purse, Ciulla followed Hedrich, who pulled over, got out of the car and demanded Ciulla’s wallet, which Ciulla had hidden in her car.
Keegan’s report states that Ciulla claimed instead the wallet was in McNeill’s vehicle, which had since departed.
While this transpired, McNeill and Luquette revised their plan to try to rob Ciulla again, this time involving Rebecca Walton and her boyfriend, Jay Dodaro. McNeill would drive Ciulla home and Walton would follow with Dodaro’s .357 revolver.
When McNeill dropped Ciulla off on the corner next to her house, Walton ran up, held the gun to Ciulla’s head and demanded her wallet. This time, the robbery succeeded and the four criminals came away with the grand sum of $84.
After reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, McNeill will be sentenced on Feb. 28 for her involvement in the case.
Hedrich has a trial date set for March 18 and Luquette currently is being prosecuted for unrelated crimes.
Reach Ross Coyle at rcoyle@sequimgazette.com.
