Browse > Home Local News / Bunker of one of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ bank robbers found in Sammamish 
 
 Bunker of one of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ bank robbers found in Sammamish 
 
 NEW — 4:08 p.m. March 10, 2015 
 
 Local police, the Washington State Patrol, and FBI and ATF agents were on a high hillside next to the Monterre residential complex, 3500 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway, this morning, searching through a bunker allegedly created by a man who was featured on “America’s Most Wanted.” 
 
 The search is in connection with convicted bank robber Bradley Steven Robinett, a 46-year-old man who had been on the run for five years before pleading guilty to federal charges in January. 
 
 The bunker was found by piecing together different clues from different people and different bits of evidence, FBI Media Coordinator Ayn Dietrich-Williams said. 
 
 She compared searching for the bunker, one of several officials believe Robinett had across the state, to a child’s treasure hunt. She added officials combing the steep, wooded area next to the apartment complex found the bunker because of an alert ATF agent. 
 
 The agent saw a piece of wood that looked out of place, and that wood apparently was part of the entrance to the roughly 10-by-8-foot bunker dug into the hillside. The entrance to the bunker was a small wooden hatch that led to a steep set of stairs. 
 
 Officials would not confirm that Robinett lived in the bunker while on the run from police, but stated it was probably built about 10 years ago. The inside was covered with white mold and filled with bits and pieces of junk, such as shoes and, oddly, several unopened cans of soda. 
 
 Officers said they had earlier that morning removed 15 to 20 plastic totes from the bunker. Dietrich-Williams declined to say what was in the two-handed totes, adding officials were still combing through the items. 
 
 The city of Sammamish had earlier reported the bunker may have contained stolen items such as jewelry and weapons, but as the day progressed, it became unclear whether that was the case. 
 
 According to court filings, Robinett was convicted of bank robbery, and in 2004 was sentenced to seven years in prison. In August 2009, he was released from a federal prison in Arizona and put on a bus to Seattle with the requirement that he report to a specific halfway house within 48 hours. 
 
 Robinett never reported to the halfway house and a warrant was issued for his arrest. 
 
 In September 2009, police on Bainbridge Island attempted to stop a car that led them on a high-speed chase. Robinett was driving the car, fled from it and got away. 
 
 Inside the car, officers found a Glock 9mm pistol and a ballistic vest. Both items were stolen from the Seattle Police Department several years earlier. The vehicle Robinett was driving was reported stolen in Oregon. 
 
 Prior to his arrest in June 2014, the last time law enforcement saw Robinett was in November 2009, when Washington State Patrol detectives encountered him at a park & ride facility in Bellevue. 
 
 At the time, Robinett was operating a stolen vehicle. He attempted to ram a WSP vehicle before fleeing the area. The WSP trooper driving the vehicle managed to avoid the collision, but Robinett was able to abandon his car and escape on foot. WSP Sgt. Jeff Maijala* was driving the vehicle Robinette tried to ram and was on hand to tour the bunker this morning. 
 
 “It’s nice to have some closure,” Maijall said. 
 
 Robinett was finally arrested in Hillsboro, Oregon, in June 2014, after being on the run for nearly five years. He was taken into custody after police, using an automated license plate reader in a shopping mall parking lot, determined the car he was driving had been stolen in King County. 
 
 Police waited for the driver to return to the vehicle and they arrested Robinett without incident. 
 
 In addition to his bank robbery conviction, Robinett has prior felony convictions for possession of stolen property in King and Clallam counties, and unlawful possession of a machine gun, car theft and burglary in King County. 
 
 In 2011, Robinett was featured on the programs “Washington’s Most Wanted” and “America’s Most Wanted.” 
 
 He pleaded guilty to escape, being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle in January 2015. 
 
 King County Sgt. B.J. Myers said local officials, with the help of the ATF, planned to demolish the bunker by this evening. Dietrich-Williams said officials hope citizens would keep an eye out for such bunkers and report suspicions to police. But Dietrich-Williams also warned civilians to keep clear from any such bunkers for safety reasons. 
 
 Reporter Christina Corrales-Toy contributed to this story. 
 
 *This story contains corrected information 
 
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 SAMMAMISH, Wash. - An underground bunker apparently built by a prolific criminal who had been on the run for five years was found Tuesday morning near Lake Sammamish by a joint team made up of local and federal law enforcement personnel. 
 
 
 
 Ayn Dietrich-Williams of the FBI's Seattle office said investigators are now searching the bunker. It was not immediately clear whether any stolen loot had been found inside. 
 
 
 
 Williams said the bunker was discovered during an investigation into the activities of Bradley Steven Robinett, 46, who fled from supervised release in Seattle more than five years ago after serving time for bank robbery. 
 
 
 
 There are shelves with bottles, and an overturned cot with bedding on the floor, several plastic bags and an old pair of shoes. The bunker is also held-up by a series of 2-by-4's, now rotting from mold that's accumulated over the years. 
 
 
 
 Agents think Robinett may have built two other bunkers in the state. Investigators won't say why this one was near Lake Sammamish, only that evidence gathered after Robinett's arrest led them right there. 
 
 
 
 "We followed clues that we uncovered through the investigation that read almost like a childhood treasure hunt," Williams said. "We knew to look for a certain type of tree by a certain type of ravine." 
 
 
 
 Investigators hauled-out more than a dozen plastic tubs filled with evidence and they're trying to see if any of it points to any of Robinett's heists or perhaps other crimes. 
 
 
 
 During the five years he was on the run, Robinett committed crimes in Washington and Oregon and was able to escape twice from police as they closed in on him, Williams said. 
 
 
 
 Robinett was finally captured and arrested in June 2014 in Oregon. In January he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to escape and other charges. He will be sentenced in May and potentially faces 12-plus years in prison. 
 
 
 
 Williams said finding Robinett had been a priority for law enforcement officials ever since 2009, when he disappeared after his release from an Arizona prison where he had served a seven-year term for bank robbery. 
 
 
 
 He was put on a bus to Seattle after his 2009 release with the requirement that he report to a specific halfway house within 48 hours - but Robinett never reported to the halfway house and a warrant was issued for his arrest. 
 
 
 
 In September 2009, police on Bainbridge Island spotted him and attempted to stop a stolen car he was driving. He led officers on a high-speed chase before bailing out of the car and getting away on foot. Inside the car officers found a Glock 9-mm pistol and a ballistic vest that had been stolen from the Seattle Police Department. 
 
 
 
 Again in November 2009, Washington State Patrol troopers encountered Robinett in another stolen vehicle at a park-and-ride lot in Bellevue. Robinett attempted to ram a trooper's patrol car before fleeing the area. The trooper managed to avoid the collision, but Robinett got away again. 
 
 
 
 In 2011, Robinett was featured on the TV program "America's Most Wanted," but police had no more contact with him until June 2014 when officers in Hillsboro, Ore., located a car at a shopping mall parking lot that had been stolen from the Seattle area. The officers staked out the car and arrested the driver - who turned out to be Robinett - when he returned to the vehicle. 
 
 
 
 He pleaded guilty in January to escape, being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. 
 
 
 
 In addition to his earlier bank robbery conviction, Robinett has prior felony convictions for possession of stolen property, unlawful possession of a machine gun, car theft and burglary. 
 
 
 
 An investigation continued into his activities even after his guilty plea, resulting in the discovery of the underground bunker. ||||| By Gary Horcher and Essex Porter 
 
 A joint investigative team of FBI and ATF agents spent hours Tuesday searching a well-built underground bunker discovered in a thickly-wooded area near East Lake Sammamish. 
 
 The Seattle office of the FBI said the cache’s location in challenging terrain was discovered through the investigation of 46-year-old Bradley Steven Robinett, a convicted bank robber who escaped his supervised release in August 2009. 
 
 “We followed those clues much like one would follow a treasure hunt put together by children. We knew to look for a certain type of tree, a certain type of ravine," said Special Agent Ayn Dietrich-Williams, FBI spokeswoman. 
 
 Click here to see raw video of the bunker. 
 
 According to Washington’s Western District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Robinett was arrested in Hillsboro, Oregon, in June 2014 after being on the run for nearly five years. 
 
 According to court filings, Robinett was convicted of bank robbery, and in 2004 was sentenced to seven years in prison. In August, 2009, he was released from a federal prison in Arizona and put on a bus to Seattle with the requirement that he report to a halfway house within 48 hours. 
 
 Robinett never reported to the halfway house and a warrant was issued for his arrest. 
 
 In September, 2009, police on Bainbridge Island attempted to stop a car that led them on a high speed chase. 
 
 Police said Robinett was driving the car, but he abandoned it and was able to elude officers. 
 
 Authorities said inside the car officers found a Glock 9 mm pistol and a ballistic vest that had been stolen from the Seattle Police Department several years earlier. 
 
 Before he was arrested last June, law enforcement said the last time they saw Robinett was in November, 2009, when Washington State Patrol detectives encountered him driving a stolen car at a Park and Ride facility in Bellevue. 
 
 Police say Robinett attempted to ram a WSP vehicle before fleeing, and though the trooper driving the vehicle managed to avoid a crash, Robinett was able to escape. The trooper Robinett tried to run down was at the bunker today. 
 
 “It's nice to have some resolution. It's nice to have some loose ends tied up,” said Detective Sgt. Jeff Maijala. 
 
 The vehicle Robinett was driving was reported stolen in Oregon, which led to his arrest. 
 
 On Jan. 29, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to escape, being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. He faces more than 12 years in prison when he is sentenced in May. 
 
 The former Marine also managed to escape police in 2011 by stealing a kayak and paddling into Puget Sound. 
 
 Neighbors who live in a nearby East Lake Sammamish condominium complex were very surprised to hear that Robinett, while featured as a dangerous fugitive on the show “America’s Most Wanted,” was likely sneaking through the condo’s parking lot to his hidden bunker in the woods for years. 
 
 "I'm sure I've walked right by (the bunker)," neighbor Jake Lasody said. 
 
 “The thing is, I've walked up that hill and walked all around, I’ve walked my dog up in there and I’ve never ever seen a thing. (An FBI agent) said the bunker was literally fifteen steps over the hill which is literally two minutes from my doorstep, which I can't believe!" 
 
 The FBI took the extraordinary step of showing the bunker to the public because agents want people to be on the lookout for similar bunkers or caches around the state that might belong to Robinett or other criminals. 
 
 “We continue our investigation on the serial murderer Israel Keys and we know that he hid caches throughout Washington State. 
 
 Some of these caches can be big as the 8-by-10 bunker related to Israel Keys or someone else. It could be as small as a bunker just buried a few feet underground,” Dietrich-Williams said. 
 
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– Using clues that "read almost like a childhood treasure hunt," local police and federal agents have uncovered what they believe was a fugitive's underground bunker near Washington's Lake Sammamish, KOMO reports. Authorities say they think the moldy, garbage-strewn hideout was at some point built and used by 46-year-old Bradley Steven Robinett, a convicted bank robber who fled his Seattle supervised-release program more than five years ago. Robinett—who was featured on America's Most Wanted in 2011, per KOMO—was arrested in June in Oregon and pleaded guilty in January to charges of escape, possessing a firearm as a felon, and interstate transport of a stolen vehicle, for which he'll be sentenced in May, KIRO 7 reports. Robinett was released from an Arizona prison in 2009 after a seven-year stint for bank robbery, and instead of going to a halfway house as required, he simply disappeared. He continued his crime spree in Washington and Oregon, KOMO notes, and even came close to being caught at least two other times before his 2014 capture, but he eluded cops. (KIRO says he got away from them a third time ... via kayak.) An ATF agent helping search the wooded area near Lake Sammamish yesterday noticed a piece of wood that seemed amiss, and when officials moved it, they discovered the opening to the 10-by-8-foot bunker, the Sammamish Review reports. Although officials seem confident the bunker is Robinett's, they're not sure when he may have stayed there: The Review notes the site seems to have been abandoned for a decade or so. (Secret bunkers reportedly built for Mussolini were opened in the fall.)