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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

Another bank robbery suspect nabbed

This surveillance photo is from a robbery on Tuesday in Coeur d'Alene at the Washington Trust Bank. (Coeur d'Alene Police Department)
This surveillance photo is from a robbery on Tuesday in Coeur d'Alene at the Washington Trust Bank. (Coeur d'Alene Police Department)

A man suspected of bank robbery in Coeur d'Alene has been accused of robbing two Spokane financial institutions.

Michael R. Kent, 38, appeared in Spokane County Superior Court Thursday on one count of first-degree bank robbery in connection with a Dec. 16 heist at Chase Bank, 822 W. Francis.

He’s also accused of the Dec. 24 robbery at Numerica Credit Union, 1916 W. Francis, according to court documents filed Wednesday in Superior Court.

The same day Chase Bank was robbed, Kent took his girlfriend and her children Christmas shopping with $600 he said he’d gotten from his savings account, according to court documents. Kent also reportedly handed a friend $9,000 that day and asked him how it felt to hold that much money, the documents say.

Kent also is a suspect in the Jan. 12 robbery at the Washington Trust Bank in downtown Coeur d’Alene. The culprit in that case is pictured above. The FBI has seized a coat belonging to Kent that they believe was worn in the robbery, according to court documents.

In each case, the robber handed a teller demanding money and indicated he had a gun, but never displayed one.

Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.