Overview

• Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields were arrested Monday night in Lacey, Washington, after a soldier encountered them stealing equipment and was struck with a hammer on Sunday at the Army Ranger compound.
• According to a federal complaint, the suspects brandished a hammer and knife in the assault before fleeing with U.S. Army property during the late-night encounter.
• An FBI SWAT team with Army CID and Thurston County deputies executed a search warrant and confiscated about 35 firearms—including short-barrel rifles, an MG42 machine gun and grenade launchers—alongside body armor, ammunition and Nazi paraphernalia.
• One defendant told investigators the pair had been stealing gear from the base for two years to sell or trade, and authorities recovered roughly $24,000 in cash at their home.
• Frakes and Fields are charged with robbery, assault and theft of government property and made their initial appearances Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma with bail set at $500,000 each.