First-degree robbery suspect held on $100,000 bail

A Thurston County man who was charged with first-degree robbery in August 2019 on accusations of robbing a local credit union was arrested yesterday after missing numerous hearings over the past year.

Kennedy Tineo, 25, is facing two separate felony cases — one for the robbery and another for an alleged assault — and he is being held on $100,000 bail in the Thurston County jail.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Aug. 2019, Tineo was arrested for first-degree robbery, a class A felony, after the staff at a local credit union said he stole over $5,000. Court documents say Tineo and a second suspect entered the building together. The second suspect is an alleged victim in Tineo’s assault case. The JOLT News does not name victims of violent crime.

Tineo slipped a note to a teller indicating he had a gun and demanding $200,000 in cash, according to court documents.

After receiving just over $5,000 in cash, Tineo and the second suspect left the credit union. Staff members told police after the incident that they had seen Tineo in the credit union before. Surveillance footage from a nearby building showed that Tineo’s vehicle had been parked nearby.

Authorities went to Tineo’s residence in Mason County, where he was living at the time. They arrested the second suspect, located the stolen money and later found Tineo hiding under a bed. Both Tineo and the second suspect claimed sole responsibility for the robbery.

Court documents indicate Tineo, who has no history of criminal convictions, posted $5,000 bond and was released. He was arrested the next month for an unrelated charge of felony harassment and misdemeanor assault (which was later updated to felony assault), and he again posted bond of $2,500 and was released. He failed to report to pretrial services, which was a condition of his release, and two warrants were written for his arrest in both cases. He was charged with two counts of bail jumping.

He was arrested just past midnight Monday in the 5700 block of Ruddell Road Southeast in Lacey.

During a hearing in Thurston County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon, Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson argued Tineo be held on $100,000 in both cases, or $200,000 total. He said the bail amounts set in both matters initially were “astonishingly low.”

Public Defender Alex Frix argued that he be held on $5,000 for the assault and $10,000 for the robbery — double the initial bail amounts. He noted Tineo has a job and a child who he cares for.

Judge John Skinder opted for $50,000 bail for each case, totaling $100,000.

Tineo has an arraignment hearing set for Sept. 16.