PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man jailed on a state warrant after a manhunt last week will face charges that he also robbed a Port Angeles pizza shop.
Corey Earl Borden, 24, is expected to be charged with first-degree robbery this Friday in the July 21 robbery of Papa Murphy’s Take ’N’ Bake Pizza at 1405 E. Front St.
Borden has been in custody in the Clallam County jail since last Friday. He has been held on a state Department of Corrections warrant for failing to report to his corrections officer.
He remained in jail Wednesday after Superior Court Judge George L. Wood set his bail at $250,000 during Borden’s first court appearance that afternoon.
John Troberg, county chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, requested the amount because of the seriousness of the robbery and Borden’s history of not appearing in court.
“This is just a flat-out strong-arm robbery,” Troberg said.
“It’s a significant risk to public safety.”
During the pizza shop robbery, police say Borden pointed a black plastic gun made to look like a real firearm at a Papa Murphy’s employee and demanded money. The amount has not been disclosed.
Harry Gasnick, Borden’s assigned defense attorney, argued for a lower bail because Borden already cannot pay the $10,000 bail set after he was arrested on a Department of Corrections warrant.
“The number $250,000 is a nice, round number, but it might as well have been pulled out of a hat,” Gasnick said, “and [in] this case, a much more expensive hat than my client could ever hope to have.”
Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said police also suspect Borden in a July 24 home burglary in the 2800 block of U.S. Highway 101 in east Port Angeles.
Troberg has decided not to file charges against Borden related to the burglary at this time.
“It’s still in the investigative stage,” Troberg said.
After the pizza shop robbery, a resident found a black BB gun on South Vine Street, north of East Sixth Street, alongside a scarf police think Borden used to cover his face during the robbery.
The gun matched the one the Papa Murphy’s employee said was used in the robbery, police said.
Investigators connected Borden to the robbery through clothing officers recovered, including a button-up shirt with images of cars on it found on Chambers Street a few blocks from the pizza shop, and through calls from members of the public, who identified Borden from photos released by police.
Borden denied involvement in the robbery, police said, saying he was at his mother’s and stepfather’s house all day July 21, according to court documents.
Borden was arrested by Port Angeles police and state community corrections officers on the Department of Corrections warrant near the Swain’s General
Store parking lot on East First Street at about 2:15 p.m. Friday after several 9-1-1 calls from witnesses placed him in the area.
He had first been spotted at about 1 p.m. Thursday, according to community corrections officer Michael Woodhouse.
A corrections officer driving along U.S. Highway 101 saw Borden driving the other way, Woodhouse said.
The officer, who was aware of the arrest warrant, turned around and followed Borden, who abandoned the car near Fey Road and Highway 101 and ran into the nearby woods, according to officials.
A multi-agency search did not find him, and he was arrested the next day after several people saw him and called police.
Borden was sentenced to the community corrections supervision requirements after pleading guilty in October 2012 to delivery of oxycodone, court documents say.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
