Armed man robs assisted living facility in Liberty Lake

A former assisted living center employee accused of robbing the place at gunpoint early Wednesday was ordered jailed on $50,000 bond after appearing in Superior Court. Timothy J. Martinez, 28, locked a 20-year-old female employee and a 77-year-old male resident in a room at Guardian Angel Homes in Liberty Lake after stealing a bag of narcotics about 2 a.m., according to Liberty Lake Police Department. The center is across the street from the police department. An officer and two sheriff’s deputies responded within one minute. They saw a man later identified as Martinez throw something under a parked car near the center. An officer forced him to the ground and put him in the back of his patrol car before retrieving the bag of drugs and an Airsoft rifle that had a laser sight attached. Police followed Martinez’s footprints in the snow back to the center. The employee said the robber knocked on the door and said he had a medication delivery, then displayed the rifle when she opened the door. The man was wearing a ski mask, but the employee said his voice sounded very familiar. Martinez worked at the center last summer, according to police. Martinez told police he was sorry but was “having money issues and had no choice,” according to court documents prepared by police. “This is what I get for having an idea about trying to make a quick buck,” he said. Martinez remains in jail on charges of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree kidnapping and three counts of possession of a controlled substance.