PORT ORCHARD—Sheriff’s detectives abandoned their investigation, and prosecutors dropped charges, against two men accused of robbing a Poulsbo home on Easter.
Jacob Lewis Dubek, 29, of Bremerton, and Jason Lee Longshore, 31, of Shelton, were the prime suspects in a home invasion robbery at gunpoint that allegedly occurred at a Poulsbo home on April 20.
Alleged victims and witnesses identified the two men as the robbers by reportedly searching their connections on Facebook.
Within days, warrants were issued for the suspects’ arrest. Dubek was arrested and charged with robbery on April 23. He was held in the Kitsap County Jail on $100,000.
A search was launched for Longshore but he was not apprehended. The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office released a notice to the public with Longshore’s photograph, asking for help locating him.
But while the search for Longshore was on, and Dubek sat in jail, detectives discovered discrepancies in the statements made by alleged victims and witnesses, according to a May 6 press release from the sheriff’s office.
The discrepancies “cast doubt on various aspects of the case,” and “the use of social media played a role in reaching this conclusion,” the release states.
Specifically, witnesses to the robbery appeared uncertain as to the identity of the robbers.
“The lead detective on the case contacted me and said his witness was waffling on the identification on the suspect,” said Barbara Dennis, senior deputy prosecuting attorney with the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office.
Dennis said that a witness heard through Facebook that Longshore had an alibi for the night of the robbery.
“So now she wasn’t certain about that, because she identified Mr. Longshore as the second suspect,” Dennis said. “So she started throwing out other names.”
“The detective said, ‘We are putting together a Facebook case. That’s not the way we do things,’” Dennis said.
At the same time, Dennis was getting additional information about the other suspect; Longshore.
“Mr. Longshore retained counsel, who contacted me,” Dennis said. “(Longshore) had a full alibi for the day in question. They brought that information in within the first couple of days of the warrant being issued.”
“The attorney agreed to bring (Longshore) in for an interview with the detective, with his alibis,” Dennis said. “With the information the detective had given me about the victim waffling, it raised questions.”
“I contacted Dubek’s lawyer and he claimed that he has an alibi, too,” she added.
The sheriff’s office moved to cancel the warrant for Longshore on May 1, and the prosecutor dropped the charges against Dubek. Dubek was released from jail on May 2.
Dubek’s car, a 1993 Acura, was impounded as evidence. It was released to him upon his exit from jail.
The investigation into the initial incident remains open, however. On April 20, residents of a Poulsbo home near Keyport alleged that two men entered their home and held them at gunpoint. One resident was reportedly robbed of $800 and other valuables.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
