Robbery suspect ordered held on $250,000 bail

SANDPOINT - An Alaska man accused of robbing a Ponderay credit union made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Tuesday.

Judge Debra Heise sustained Karl Erik Erickson's $250,000 bail and appointed a public defender to represent him, court records show. Erickson is charged with robbery.

A preliminary hearing in the case is pending.

Erickson, 32, is accused of entering the Horizon Credit Union branch on Bonner Mall Way on July 7 and committing the strong-arm robbery. A criminal complaint states that he approached a teller and demanded cash by stating, "This is a robbery, give me the money."

Erickson allegedly demanded $5,000 and made off with $3,410 in cash, according to court documents. Erickson parked the getaway vehicle behind Sandpoint Furniture prior to the heist.

Erickson was arrested during a traffic stop in Kootenai County on Friday, according to Idaho State Police. The traffic stop was due in part because of a citizen's tip, ISP said in a brief news release.

Erickson was identified as a suspect within a day of the heist. Erickson's family originally hails from this area and relocated to Alaska, but had returned for a vacation, court documents indicate. Erickson is linked to addresses in Palmer and Wasilla, Alaska.

Family members confronted Erickson after seeing news reports about the robbery, which included images of the suspect. Erickson at one point feigned having no knowledge of the robbery in Ponderay, but also stated at one point that he generated news that eclipsed the wildfire burning in Bayview, according to unsealed probable cause hearing testimony.

Erickson is described in court documents as a heroin addict with a litany of prior criminal offenses.

A search of Alaska's online courts database turned up more than 60 criminal cases, most of which were classed as misdemeanors. There were also felony drug and theft arrests, in addition to a conviction for forcible robbery in 2004.

Erickson entered a no-contest plea to the robbery charge, although the database does not indicate the duration of his sentence.