ANACORTES, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Legal pro tip: if you’re jonesing to rob a store, consider a business you haven’t targeted in the past.

Anacortes Police say that they were alerted to an armed robbery report at a cannabis store on Highway 20 Monday night, Aug. 17.

An officer quickly located the suspect as he emerged from blackberry brush a short distance away from the store.

The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Austin Thomas, claimed that he had been working out.

A search through police records found that Thomas had been convicted of robbing the same exact cannabis store in 2020.

Following Thomas’ arrest, officers and a K9 unit recovered the stolen products along with a rifle believed to have been used in the robbery.