A man has been arrested in the investigation of a Fairview bank robbery, according to the FBI.
Forty-eight-year-old Scott Hartvig McDowell was arrested Wednesday night at the Castle Megastore, an adult sex store on Fifth Avenue, the FBI wrote in a Thursday release.
At 1:20 p.m. Tuesday McDowell walked into the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, at 777 Juneau Street, armed with a semi-automatic pistol in the waistband of his pants, according to a complaint filed Wednesday. The court documents state he handed a teller a note, demanding that she empty the cash drawer.
“The man demanded one hundred dollar bills to which the teller complied,” the complaint stated. “He then demanded fifty dollar bills. The teller again complied and gave the man multiple fifty dollar bills. The teller stated that the individual had his hand around his waist as if he had a gun.”
Surveillance footage from a nearby business revealed that shortly before the robbery began, a small black car parked in front of the bank. One person exited the vehicle and walked into the bank.
Then, at 1:26 p.m. a person ran from the bank to the car and fled.
An audit of the teller’s cash drawer showed $2,700 was stolen, according to the document.
The Anchorage Police Department and FBI both responded to the bank.
Using surveillance footage, a police officer found that McDowell could be a match. A photo of McDowell was given to the teller in a lineup, where she positively identified him as the robber, the complaint said. The document did not say how the officer was able to identify the robber so quickly.
Investigators also found a picture on McDowell’s Facebook page in which he appeared to be wearing the same sweatshirt as when he allegedly robbed the bank, the court document explains.
An APD officer discovered the car involved was stolen on July 27.
According to online federal court records, McDowell is being represented by a public defender and appeared in court Thursday afternoon. He’s scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 12 for a preliminary hearing.
Megan Edge can be reached by email, on Twitter and Facebook.
