Four suspects in motel beating, robbery confess to police, charged with robbery

Four suspects in the beating and robbery of two men at a Bothell motel were charged in Snohomish County Superior Court on Jan. 25. Each confessed to the crimes at the time of their arrest, according to court documents.

Four suspects in the beating and robbery of two men at a Bothell motel were charged in Snohomish County Superior Court on Jan. 25. Each confessed to the crimes at the time of their arrest, according to court documents.

Jessica Lynn Cadigan, 24, of Seattle; Bret Adam Pettey, 27, of Marysville; Jason Lee Rowberry, 37, of Everett; and James Thomas Woodruff, 42, of Lynnwood, were each charged with first-degree robbery. The state has requested that the four be held on $200,000 bail each, the documents continue.

The four are being held in connection to an incident at the Holiday Inn Express in Bothell on Jan. 2. Police responded to a report of a robbery at approximately 5:15 a.m. and found a 22-year-old man handcuffed in a third floor hallway and a 28-year-old man severely beaten in one-of-two adjacent third-floor rooms, according to probable cause documents. The man in the hallway told police that the suspects stole his vehicle, a black 2005 Mercedes. The man in the room had several lacerations to his face and head. He told police that two or three unknown men beat him, the documents continue.

The hotel telephone cord had also been cut and there were several blood stains in the room and a blood soaked rag in the bathroom.

The beaten man told police that he received a phone call from Cadigan, who said she was having a fight with her boyfriend and needed a place to stay. The man said that the two were childhood friends and he invited the woman to stay the night at the hotel. He picked up Cadigan from the Whispering Pines apartment complex in Lynnwood with the other man’s Mercedes, according to court documents.

The 28-year-old man fell asleep, while the other victim and Cadigan went for a walk to the lobby to get a soda. The man described seeing three men, Pettey, Rowberry and Woodruff, walking past them in the direction of their hotel rooms, the documents continue.

Upon returning to the room, Cadigan told the younger victim that she was going to the adjoining room to make a phone call. A few moments later the younger victim heard a commotion in the adjoining room. The other man told police that he was awakened by the three men hitting him in the face and body. He believed that he was hit with a gun and other items. He also overheard Cadigan coaching the three men and telling them what to take and to specifically look for the keys to the Mercedes. He told police that the men took the keys, his wallet, $30 in cash, two cell phones, his clothes and other various items, according to court documents.

The younger victim went to see what was going on and saw the three men that passed him in the hall standing around his friend, who was on the floor. The man ran back into the other room but was pursued by one of the men, who was wearing a ski mask and carrying a small baseball bat. The suspect pushed him to the floor and applied pressure to the back of his head with either the baseball bat or a handgun and took what was in the man’s pockets. Another suspect entered the room and handcuffed the victim and tied his wrists to his pants, the documents continue.

The man told police that Cadigan left the hotel room with the three male suspects and he overheard her telling the men what his car keys looked like.

“It’s not a normal key,” the victim recalled Cadigan telling the three suspects.

The younger victim told police he believed that Cadigan set the entire situation up because “she was aware he had a good income and expensive property,” the documents continue. The suspects also stole the older man’s wallet, cell phone and clothing.

The older victim was taken to EvergreenHealth hospital and treated for multiple contusions to his face and forehead, which required stitches.

After interviewing the victims, Lynnwood police conducted a check of the Whispering Pines apartment complex and spotted the stolen Mercedes. One hour later police witnessed three males and one female remove items from the vehicle and return to an apartment. One of the men and a different woman returned to the car a little while later and drove away in the Mercedes, where they were tailed and eventually pulled over. The woman identified two men, Woodruff and Rowberry, as being in the apartment when she left with Pettey, the documents continue.

Pettey confessed to police that he, Rowberry and Woodruff robbed the two suspects earlier that morning. He stated that Woodruff “pistol whipped” one of the men and that Rowberry tied up the other man. He also told police that he was “just a look out” and that Cadigan set up the entire situation, telling the three men the victims had money and drugs. Pettey told police that he is a heroin addict and needed the money, according to court documents.

Pettey continued that Woodruff told him that Cadigan took off on foot with the stolen property, including heroin, in the Kingsgate neighborhood of Kirkland. The North Sound Metro SWAT Team contacted and arrested the other two men at the apartment complex. Woodruff admitted to the crime and was found to have in his possession one of the victims’ coin purse and insurance card. Rowberry also admitted to being a part of the robbery. Rowberry claimed that Woodruff and Cadigan set up the robbery and after the older victim was struck in the face, Rowberry attempted to give him first aid and left a bloodied rag in the bathroom, the documents continue.

Police searched the apartment and found the rest of the victims’ belongings, along with a loaded handgun.

Cadigan was picked up on Feb. 2 by the Seattle Police Department on unrelated outstanding felony warrants. She was booked into the King County Jail and transferred to the Snohomish County Jail where Woodruff and Rowberry spotted her in the jail processing area. A corrections officer overheard Rowberry tell Woodruff “there she is, I told you we should have killed her,” according to police documents.

Cadigan confessed to police that she set up the robbery with the three other suspects and planned to split the drugs and money, the documents continue.

Rowberry has four previous felony convictions for drug possession, along with 16 misdemeanor convictions. Cadigan has two felony convictions from 2008 and multiple misdemeanors dating back to 2007, for which she served six months in prison. Pettey has a felony conviction for possession of a stolen vehicle from 2009, for which he served a year in prison, along with 15 misdemeanor convictions. Woodruff has been convicted of seven felonies since 1988.