Witnesses recognized the man who robbed a Midtown credit union of $1,800 Thursday as a "frequent customer," according to federal prosecutors.
Eyob Eric Stewart Imlach, 23, is charged with robbing Alaska USA Federal Credit Union on West 36th Avenue, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Alaska.
The charges say Imlach walked into the credit union around 12:24 p.m. Wearing a parka and JanSport backpack but no shirt, Imlach approached a bank teller and "wrote a note while holding open the backpack," court documents say.
"Without receiving cash from the first teller, (Imlach) gave the note to a second teller," the charges say. He then left the building.
A security guard followed Imlach and watched him walk across the parking lot into the Qupqugiaq Inn.
Anchorage police officers soon approached the inn and detained Imlach. He was found in the hotel's common room, described in the charges as "an open room shared by six sleeping pods."
Officers found a backpack matching the one worn by the robber sticking out of a black garbage bag near where Imlach had been found. The FBI is asking for a warrant to search the backpack, the charges say.
Three witnesses were brought to the inn. Each "recognized Imlach as a frequent customer of the credit union who had made prior transactions at the bank," charges say.
Imlach was arrested and taken to the FBI's Anchorage office.
Imlach has several other open criminal cases, state online records show, including theft and trespassing charges. In 2016, he was charged with stabbing his father. He pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, and the other charges were dismissed.