A Federal Way man was recently sentenced to 13 years, four months in prison after being found guilty of 10 counts of first-degree robbery.

Valoaga Frankie Falaniko pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Jan. 12, but changed his plea to guilty on June 9.

Falaniko went on a spree of robberies throughout Federal Way, Des Moines, SeaTac, Tacoma and Spanaway. Eight of the 10 robberies he was convicted of took place at 7-11 stores.

Federal Way police arrested Falaniko on Dec. 24, 2014 after a witness reported a robbery at the Stop In Grocery, located at 33320 Pacific Highway S. The man said the suspect approached the counter and “pistol whipped” him with a black semi-automatic handgun.

He stole $200 from the cash register, ran from the store and got into a silver 2002 Ford Explorer. But the witness ran after him and saw him turn into the Pinewood Village Apartments in Federal Way. He called police and described him as being a white male in his 20s with a partially covered face and wearing a white hoodie and gray pants.

Officers found the truck in the parking lot and found that it was registered to Falaniko and another woman. During this time, a detective identified Falaniko and he was arrested shortly after.

After a K9 search of the area, officers found a jacket, backpack and gloves that matched clothing the suspect was wearing during the robbery. The jacket also contained Falaniko’s identification.

In an interview with Falaniko’s landlords (he was renting a room in their basement), police discovered he would often complain of not having any money or a job but was able to provide them with hundreds of dollars on many occasions.

Falaniko was suspected of committing robberies at eight other locations, but he was not charged in those cases.