2 veterans arrested in brazen robbery, assault at Washington base

Yahoo

2 days ago

A soldier at Joint Base Lewis-McChord fought off two masked men who attacked him with a hammer while stealing gear from the Ranger Compound on base Sunday night.
Authorities arrested Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields, both veterans, at their home in Lacey, Washington, on Monday night, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
FBI agents found an arsenal that included dozens of guns, explosives and body armor, along with Nazi paraphernalia at the home.
According to the complaint, a soldier entered a building at the Army Ranger compound at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Sunday night and found two men wearing Ranger physical training clothing with a cluster of Army property around them. The soldier questioned them about what they were doing and told them to pull down their masks, which they did.
A fight ensued, and one of the men brandished a hammer and struck the soldier in the head. Despite losing a large amount of blood, the soldier continued to fight and managed to get control of the hammer — at which point, one of the men pulled a knife. The soldier then let them go, the complaint said.
The two veterans had attempted to steal about $14,000 worth of body armor, ballistic helmets and communications equipment, most of which they left behind when they dropped their rucksacks as they fled, the complaint said.
During the fight, one of the men dropped his hat. It said 'Fields' on the inside. Using base entry logs and surveillance video, investigators determined that Fields and Frakes had entered Lewis-McChord together about an hour before the attack, investigators said.
Additionally, the wounded soldier, who required hospital treatment, told investigators he asked around his unit about the name Fields after finding it on the hat. The soldier learned that Fields had been assigned to the Ranger Battalion around 2021, and he was able to identify him as one of the attackers based on photos shown to him by others in his unit, the complaint said.
The men had access to the base because they were veterans, the probable cause statement filed in state court said.
'Charles E. Fields was a 11B (Infantrymen) in the Regular Army from February 2017 to July 2021,' An Army spokesperson told Army Times. 'He deployed to Afghanistan twice from September 2018 to February 2019 and October 2019 to November 2019. He left the Army in the rank of Sergeant.'
Information was not immediately available regarding Frakes' military service.
One of the defendants told investigators the pair had been stealing equipment from the base for the past two years to sell or trade, and agents found about $24,000 in cash at the home, wrote Special Agent Christopher J. Raguse of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
Washington state business license records show Frakes and Fields own a company called Sovereign Solutions, which featured an 'SS' logo with the letters separated by a lightning bolt, according to The Associated Press.
The company's website advertises 'Quality Training and Equipment for the Modern Warfighter,' including marksmanship classes, as well as a T-shirt with the company logo and the words 'Professional War Crime Committer.'
The federal complaint charges Frakes and Fields with robbery, assault and theft of government property. The pair also face investigation on state charges of unlawful possession of incendiary devices, short-barreled rifles and a machine gun. Each was being held at the Thurston County Jail on $500,000 bail as of Thursday.
Agents found rifles staged at the upstairs windows, a probable cause affidavit filed in Thurston County Superior Court said. The federal complaint said agents 'observed numerous Nazi/white supremacy memorabilia, murals, and literature in every bedroom and near several stockpiles of weapons and military equipment.'
Photos from inside the home included in court documents showed a wall decorated with a red Nazi flag emblazoned with a black swastika and a black SS flag — the letters shaped like lightning bolts — referencing the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi paramilitary led by Heinrich Himmler.
Agents seized about 35 firearms at the home, including short-barreled rifles and an MG42 machine gun — a type typically supported with a bipod and which was used by German troops during World War II.
Other seized gear included 3D-printed suppressors and Army-issued explosives, such as smoke grenades and blasting caps, ballistic plates and helmets and night-vision devices, authorities said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.