Teens face felony charges for alleged shoplifting

EVERETT — Two teens who allegedly tried to shoplift booze in June from an Everett Safeway while armed with a pellet gun are now facing felony robbery charges.

One boy, 17, was on probation at the time for stealing alcohol from Target and assaulting the store security guards who tried to stop him. His buddy, 18, also has prior convictions, including breaking into a school while he was drunk.

This is the first time the teens face adult felony charges. If convicted, a first-degree robbery charge is a strike under the state’s persistent offender law. Both teens were being held on $50,000 bail.

The robbery happened June 27 outside the Safeway in the 11000 block of 19th Avenue SE in south Everett. Grocery stores, such as Safeway, began selling hard alcohol in 2012 after voters approved privatization of liquor sales.

The store manager told police that while monitoring security cameras he saw two young men take three bottles of alcohol off a shelf and hide them in their clothes. The suspects, later identified as William Broady and Malachi Morrissey, tried to leave the store without paying, court papers said.

The store manager stopped the teens before they left, extending his arms in an attempt to block their exit. Broady reportedly said “don’t make me shoot you, fool.” Morrissey allegedly shoved the manager out of the way and the teens left. The manager followed the two outside and told them to stop. Broady allegedly turned to face the man and was holding what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun.

The manager, fearing he was going to be shot, backed off and called 911. Broady reportedly dropped the gun, then picked it up. He and Morrissey ran off.

Everett police officers already were in the area and chased after the teens. The officers found three bottles of liquor and a pellet gun near where they caught the suspects, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson wrote in charging papers. The store manager identified the two as the teens who shoplifted the booze and pulled a gun on him.

A week before the incident, a judge ordered Morrissey’s arrest for failing to comply with probation. Morrissey pleaded guilty in May in juvenile court to theft and assault. That conviction stemmed from an incident in January at the Target in Everett. Morrissey hid alcohol in his clothes and then fought with security officers who tried to stop him from leaving the store with the booze. At the time of that incident Morrissey had a warrant for his arrest in connection with a theft case from August 2013.

Morrissey grabbed a man’s cell phone as he was getting off a bus and ran off. Police caught up with him and found the phone in his shorts.

Broady also has numerous criminal convictions. He spent nearly a year in juvenile lock up for a burglary in 2012. About two months after being released he broke into Highland Christian School and broke out windows.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.