Black Friday shoplifter headed to prison after parking lot shooting in Tri-Cities

A 33-year-old man who put a parking lot full of Black Friday shoppers at risk over a stolen pack of Pokémon playing cards is going to prison.

Alexander Yell was trying to flee with the shoplifted the cards when he pulled a gun on a Walmart security guard and shots were exchanged.

The only one injured was Yell but he managed to drive away and was arrested later.

He admitted to investigators that he was selling stolen cards to fuel a fentanyl addiction.

Last fall, Benton County jury found Yell, a convicted felon, guilty of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault, as well as illegally possessing a gun.

“The defendant’s actions placed the lives of many people in jeopardy that day,” Deputy Prosecutor Brendan Siefkan wrote in a sentencing memo. “The defendant, despite being a convicted felon, armed himself with a loaded firearm and then used it when he attempted to shoplift playing cards.”

Under Washington sentencing guidelines which adds 10 years for using a gun to commit a crime, he was facing 14 years and 9 months to 16 years and 3 months in prison.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum and Judge David Petersen agreed.

Yell has maintained that he is innocent. And when he appeared in court following the shooting, he told a judge that he wasn’t a violent man.

He previously told investigators he pointed an Airsoft-style gun at the Walmart security officer.

Walmart lot shooting

A Walmart security guard, also known as loss prevention officer, spotted Yell take the Pokémon cards and hide them about noon on Black Friday 2021, according to Kennewick police.

As Yell started to leave the store, three security officers followed him outside, intending to get his license plate.

One of the Walmart employees, Marthell Baza, spotted Yell appear from behind a vehicle with a gun raised and Baza responded by pulling out his weapon.

Another of the guards told officers that Yell fired first, and Baza responded by shooting back.

Spent shell casings from two guns were found in the parking lot, Kennewick police said.

Yell was hit twice, and was bleeding from his arm and leg when he climbed into his car and drove to his ex-girlfriend’s home on Fifth Avenue in Kennewick.

She called 911 and he was arrested after surrendering. Yell was taken to a hospital and then booked later that night into the jail.

Kennewick Detective Joshua Riley served a search warrant at the Fifth Avenue home and found the gun, as well as hundreds of dollars of sports cards stolen during a break-in at a Gage Boulevard shop.

Yell admitted to the burglary, saying he was selling the cards to fuel a fentanyl addiction.