[1]Franklin G. Cole Jr. appears before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 32-year-old man with 21 felony convictions in his past is being held in the Lewis County Jail in connection with a Chehalis home invasion robbery from a year ago.
Franklin G. Cole Jr. was brought before a judge yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Cole has lived in Thurston County his entire life, but court documents show a Tacoma address for his residence.
According to court documents, a defendant charged last year in the case agreed in January to identify the other two involved in the incident in exchange for consideration from the state.
Charges were filed last month and arrest warrants issued for Cole and for Joshua A. Little. Little has already posted bail in his case.
According to charging documents, it was just after 11:30 at night on March 26, 2016 when police were called to the victim’s home on Southwest 10th Street just off Market Boulevard.
The 40-year-old woman was living in a shed behind a residence and packing to move out when three males kicked in her door and came inside. They were dressed in black masks and wearing gloves, she told police. She said at least one of them was holding a handgun.
The victim said they took her Playstation 4, 20-inch monitor, a DVR, laptop computer and one of them threw a four-foot long fluorescent light fixture at her. She told police she thought she recognized the voice of one of them as someone who had traded watches with her boyfriend, and his watch turned out to be fake.
Jesse L. Harkcom, 34 at the time, was arrested and charged last June.
Cole’s bail is set at $250,000. His arraignment is Thursday.
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For background, read “Chehalis home invasion suspect facing third strike case” from Friday June 10, 2016, here [2]