Moscow resident Ebrahem Arar, 31, faces one count of felony robbery in connection to an alleged Sept. 18 bank robbery at the Moscow Wells Fargo on Blaine Street.
Arar made his first appearance at the Latah County Courthouse Friday.
His bond is placed at $100,000 and a preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 8. He was arrested Thursday and was booked into the Latah County Jail.
In talking with Moscow Police on the evening of Sept. 21, Arar continually denied any involvement in the Wells Fargo bank robbery, according to a probable cause affidavit from Moscow Police Sgt. Tyson Berrett.
Arar
Family members and former coworkers identified Arar after Moscow Police released photos Sept. 21 of a man who purchased items at the Pullman Wal-Mart that matched the disguise worn by the robber at Wells Fargo.
Moscow Police responded to a reported robbery at the Wells Fargo on South Blaine Street, near Safeway, Friday Sept. 18.
According to the court document, a suspect wearing a number of disguises allegedly went into the bank and ordered three different tellers to “fill up” his brown paper bag.
The suspect allegedly left with a total of $2,335 and was seen leaving the scene in a silver four-door Toyota.
The suspect could be seen wearing a black dreadlocks wig, a long fake black beard along with black sunglasses with mirror lenses.
The suspect was also seen wearing a blue flannel jacket, a gray hooded sweatshirt and a dark gray or sage colored shirt, according to the court documents.
Police interviewed Arar at his residence in Moscow Sept. 21 and noted Arar”s car matched the description of the car involved in the robbery, including after-market wheels.
During the interview, Arar told police he planned to contact Moscow Police because people had told him he fit the description of the suspect, according to court documents. Arar told police he attempted to contact the Latah County Sheriffs Office and contacted the University of Idaho Legal Aid Office, according to the documents.
Arar agreed to an interview later that night with Moscow Police to further discuss the situation, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Arar told police him and his wife owe the IRS $12,000 and are on a monthly payment plan. He also said he had to borrow $2,900 from a friend to avoid bouncing a check, according to court documents.
Arar went to Mr. Z”s Casino in Pullman the day after the alleged robbery, according to court documents, and bought in for $1,900 but did not cash out any chips.
According to court documents, Arar told police he takes anti-anxiety medication and as a result can suffer from blackouts where he loses “hours or days sometimes.” He told police he suffers from blackout on a weekly basis, according to the documents.
During the interview Sept. 21 night, Arar told police he was home almost all day Friday, Sept. 18, and might have gone to Safeway in the afternoon to pick up some barbecue sauce, according to court documents.
Arar confirmed he was driving the 2010 Toyota Camry on Friday, Sept. 18, the same day as the robbery, according to court documents.
When looking at pictures taken from Wal-Mart, Arar said he never saw, owned or worn the shirt with a horizontal stripe visible in the Wal-Mart picture.
Yet, later on, Arar”s brother-in-law told police he gave Arar the shirt when he moved Moscow, and also said he was certain Arar was the subject pictured at Wal-Mart, according to court documents.
The investigation is still on-going and Moscow Police ask anyone with additional information about the robbery to call (208) 883-7054 or the tip line at (208) 892-3898.
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ryantarinelli