Robber strikes payday loan office

SANDPOINT - A knife-wielding robber held up a loan office on Friday morning and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood said.

"We've got some leads," Lockwood said of the male suspect in the heist.

Lockwood said the suspect entered Sandpoint Title & Payday Loans at 808 West Lake St. shortly after 10 a.m.

The masked suspect brandished a knife, demanded money and fled the scene.

The robbery occurred while there was only one employee in the business. There were no injuries, although Lockwood said the worker was shaken up by the ordeal.

The suspect was clad in a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and had a red bandana over his face. He was described as standing about 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 200 pounds.

The Sandpoint Police Department has a solid track record in apprehending robbery suspects and Bonner County prosecutors have been successful in obtaining convictions in the cases.

The last robbery in the city occurred in May 2009, when Kevin Ray McMillan entered US Bank and handed a teller a note that demanded cash.

Two months earlier, Zachariah David Lindberg, conducted a strong-arm robbery of the White Cross pharmacy in order to obtain painkillers.

McMillan and Lindberg were arrested shortly after the heists and subsequently convicted, as was Casey George Alarcon, who held up the Downtown Crossing nightclub at gunpoint in November 2007.

Those with information about the Sandpoint Title & Payday Loan robbery are asked to call Sandpoint Police at 265-1482 or Bonner Dispatch at 265-5525.