Robber strikes Horizon Credit Union

PONDERAY — Horizon Credit Union was robbed on Tuesday morning.

Ponderay Police said a male entered the building at about 9:15 a.m. and spoke with a teller.

“The suspect demanded cash and told the teller this was a robbery,” police Chief Mike Hutter said in a news release.

The suspect left on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

There were no injuries and Hutter said it was unclear if the suspect possessed any kind of weaponry.

The credit union was ringed with yellow police tape on Tuesday morning and officers could be seen taking photos inside the building as employees worked at their desks.

The suspect is described as a male in his 20s who stood 5 feet and 6-8 inches tall.

He had a stocky build, dirty blond hair and scruffy facial hair.

The robbery suspect also had full sleeve tattoos on both arms. He was wearing cargo-style shorts, a short sleeve shirt and had an aqua-green baseball cap with a dark-colored bill with stickers on it.

“He’s still at large,” Hutter said late Tuesday afternoon.

A suspect vehicle in the case is described as a newer, four-door Ford pickup truck that was white or cream in color. The rig had out-of-state plates that possibly had a yellow or orange border on them.

A vehicle resembling that description was located in Sandpoint in mid-afternoon, but Hutter said it was ruled out as the suspect vehicle.

“Unfortunately, white Ford crew cabs are pretty common so they’re going to have some false positives,” said Hutter.

There were conflicting reports about which state the license plates were from, but Hutter said it was clear that they were not Idaho plates.

Ponderay Police released several images of the suspect that were isolated from the credit union’s surveillance system.

“Hopefully, somebody might recognize him,” Hutter said.

Those with information about the identity of the suspect or the heist are asked to call the Ponderay Police Department at 208-265-4251 or Bonner Dispatch at 208-265-5525.

It’s the second time in four months that a bank in Ponderay has been targeted by a robber. A robbery of a Mountain West Bank branch was attempted on March 6, but the suspect fled empty-handed after seeing an employee activate a silent alarm.

The suspect in that first robbery attempt is described as a white male with a slight build, light brown hair and light facial hair.

He was wearing a one-piece olive drab jumpsuit, a desert camouflage boonie hat and sunglasses.

The attempted robbery remains under investigation.