LAKE STEVENS, Wash., March 24, 2022 – On March 5, 2022, Lake Stevens Police Detectives arrested and booked 30-year-old Gurjent “Guri” Singh for Communication with a Minor for Immoral Purposes and attempted Rape of a Child 2nd Degree. Some of these incidents occurred at the Lake Stevens Mini Mart at 12307 N. Lakeshore Dr, where the suspect was employed.

According to the 700-page police report, Singh, who was anticipating spending the night with a 12-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, was arrested at the Lake Stevens Boat Launch following a 2-week sting operation involving the Lake Stevens Police Department. When arrested, Singh possessed $400 in cash, two cellphones, condoms, and a pre-arranged $300 gift for the female juvenile.

During the arrest, Singh told officers that his brother owned the Mini Mart and that he was sorry.

One of the young girls Singh gave free items to from the Mini Mart stated in the police report that she felt “bad” for coming forward. She was under the impression that because Singh is from “another country and thinks it might be okay for adults to have relationships with children.” However, during the official interview between Singh and Officer Kaur of the Bothell Police Department, he confessed that he knew the legal age of consent in India is 18 years of age and stated the same age of consent for the United States.

Please be advised that due to the graphic nature of the sexually explicit text messages between Gurjent Singh and who he thought was a 12-year-old girl, the Lynnwood Times will partially redact or summarize its content.

Timeline of events leading up to the arrest of Gurjent Singh

On February 3, 2022, Corporal B. Fiske of the Lake Stevens Police Department was notified by Corporal Heinemann of a possible sex offense he had been told about while off duty. According to what he was told, a 12-year-old female juvenile had multiple interactions with an employee of the Mini Mart which involved giving her money, condoms, and a note that indicated she was “hot” and he wanted to communicate with her on social media. The employee was described as a 30-year-old male, possibly middle eastern, who went by the name “Guri.”

Guri, whose real name is Gurjent Singh, does not have a Washington state driver’s license and recently moved to the area from India.

Corporal Fiske identified the suspect and his vehicle and forwarded the information to Detective Kristen Parnell who then brought the 12-year-old girl in for questioning. Parnell learned that the girl first met Singh when her friend told her the Mini Mart by the Cove, a park the children frequently played at after school, was giving away free lollipops.

The girl and her friends walked to the Mini Mart and received free Blow Pops from Singh, returning on multiple occasions receiving free drinks and food whenever he was working. The girl told Detective Parnell that she was known to be Singh’s “favorite” and the one most likely to receive free merchandise. He also seemed to only give girls free merchandise, sometimes boys when they were with them, but on at least one occasion refused to give anything away and became “very angry” with a boy when he attempted to get free items without being accompanied by a female.

On another occasion, the girl attempted to get free condoms from Singh, with her friend on a Face Time call in her pocket to prove to her that she could. At first Singh refused, indicating that his “boss” was working and to come back in 20 minutes.

The girl went to the nearby North Cove Park and returned in 20 minutes to the Mini Mart. Singh laughed and asked the girl what the condoms were for, while giving them to her, free of charge, along with a handwritten note on a piece of receipt paper.

The note read: “Hello I don’t know your name but you are very nice. Come to my store every day if you don’t come to the store in the middle I felt very bad because I didn’t talk to you for two or three days so you are hot with me. Then we can do shopping anytime you can tell me if you need money. If you use Snap Chat or Facebook then give that id if you could give it in writing to me. If you go shopping you can bring your friends too.” The note is signed “Guri.”

When the child received Singh’s note, she felt “creeped out” because he was older than her. She informed Detective Parnell that she believed Singh intentionally waited until she entered the store alone to give it to her.

A few days later the girl returned to the Mini Mart with some friends to buy snacks and, even though they only had $1 between them, were confident they could receive them for free. Although Singh was not behind the register, he gave the girl $100 in cash to pay for their snacks. The girl refused at first, but he insisted, refusing the change when the girl attempted to return it to him.

The girl never spoke to Singh about her age but indicated to police that she and her friends often wore backpacks when they entered his Mini Mart so he must have known they were coming from nearby North Lake Middle School.

On February 15, 2022, Lake Stevens Investigations Sergeant Minor received an email from Immigration Officer Mark Fillmore stating a Gurjent Singh was contacted by U.S. Border Agents as he attempted to enter the country illegally in April of 2021. He was taken into custody and set for expedited removal but made a claim that has allowed him to remain in the country and out of custody during his proceedings. He is required to check in regularly with the Seattle immigration office.

During his interrogation with Officer Kaur and Detective Parnell after his arrest, Singh shared that he illegally crossed the Mexican border to enter the United States and showed both of them an ankle monitor he was wearing. He also told the officers that he “still needed to get his legal documents to work and stay in the United States.”

In November of 2021, Singh was pulled over by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. No other information about this incident has been released.

On February 23, 2022, Judge Edirin Okoloko signed a one-party search warrant to Detective Parnell allowing her to assume the identity of a 12-year-old girl, using a fictitious name to protect the identity of the actual victim, to exchange text messages with Singh.

That same day, Detective Parnell left a handwritten note on Singh’s vehicle telling him to text her. Singh and the undercover Detective exchanged text messages from February 24 through March 5, many of them sexually explicit in nature.

Detective Parnell, under her 12-year-old female juvenile alias, notified Singh that she was only 12 years old. Singh responded that it is “considered rape” but immediately followed with a “i will have sex with you” telling the undercover detective not to tell anyone because he “could be jailed.” He also told the undercover detective to delete their text conversations so that her mother or sister would not find and read them.

In those text messages, Singh shared sexually explicitly content involving masturbation, sexual intercourse, and oral sex.

In addition to the multiple sexual propositions initiated by Singh with the undercover detective via text conversations, he continually offered to buy gifts (including shoes, clothing, an iPhone, an Oculus Virtual Reality gaming console and even a car) and would give her money of the amount of $5,000 a month. Singh frequently spoke about how much money he had and would soon be making $40,000 a month working at the Mini Mart.

Singh and the undercover detective arranged to meet on March 5 at the Lake Stevens Boat Launch in which they were to have an overnight date at Singh’s apartment after some “work” he had to do at Walmart. When the undercover detective asked what kind of “work,” via text message, Singh responded “there is some work I can’t tell you that if you walk with me you will know.”

Leading up to their March 5^th meeting, the undercover detective texted Singh asking him to describe what they would be doing during their overnight stay. Singh responded with acts that were sexual in nature. The undercover detective then asked if he would bring condoms which Singh agreed.

On March 5, at 3:20 p.m., Singh arrived at the Lake Stevens Boat Launch for the prearranged meeting for his and the undercover detective’s date. When he arrived, detectives on scene activated the emergency lights on their vehicles and took Gurjent Singh into custody.

Singh was transported to the Lake Stevens Police Department where he was interviewed with the help of Bothell Police Officer Kaur, who is fluent in Punjabi.

It was reported by police that Singh initially lied about not knowing the age of the undercover detective and swore on his god and his parents that he was meeting the underage girl to discontinue their relationship.

However, later he admitted he was in love with who he thought was the 12-year-old girl from the store and wanted to marry her when she turned 18. He admitted that he knew she was 12 years old but planned to have sex with her because he was in love with her. He also had condoms in his possession which were booked into evidence.

Gurjent Singh was transported to the Snohomish County Jail by Lake Stevens Police Officer Holland where he was booked into custody. Bond was set at $50,000 and he was released from the Snohomish County Jail on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Detectives are asking anyone with additional tips to call their tip line (425) 622- 9369 and reference Case #2022-2009 or email tipline@lakestevenswas.gov.

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