Palmer man charged with Anchorage bank robbery

ANCHORAGE — A Palmer man has been charged in federal court for a bank robbery.

Shaun Joseph Vehlewald was charged June 6. Federal prosecutors say he robbed a Credit Union 1 branch on Eureka Street in Anchorage. FBI Special Agent Angela M. Strause wrote in an affidavit laying out the case against Vehlewald that the robbery occurred May 2, 2009.

“At approximately 1:50 p.m., the robber approached the counter and said to the teller, ‘empty your register… 100s and 50s only.’”

The man, wearing khaki shorts, a baseball cap, black shoes and a dark blue T-shirt, left on foot and fled the area on a bicycle, riding northbound on Eureka Street. A post-robbery audit showed $1,416 left the bank with the robber.

“In addition to the cash, the bank employee provided the robber with a T1 tracking device,” Strause wrote.

Three minutes later, police found the tracking device secured between two $20 bills crumpled up and tossed in a Dumpster. That evening, 20 feet from the Dumpster, police found a pair of khaki shorts and a baseball cap in the entryway of an apartment building.

As calls from tipsters diming out Vehlewald started coming in the very next day. A second call came a week later, a third the day after that. But the FBI said it didn’t have the time to investigate any of them, Strause wrote.

“Due to other high priority pending investigations and a shortage of resources, Anchorage Division’s Violent Crimes/Major Offenders Squad was unable to devote the necessary resources to further investigate this matter at the time it occurred,” Strause wrote.

A fourth informant called April 8, 2011. That informant said Vehlewald confessed. This time the FBI brought the informant in for an interview and to watch videos of the robbery. The informant said there was no doubt the man in the videos was Vehlewald.

Agents also called in the first, second and third informants. The second one wasn’t much help. The first informant was a longtime friend of Vehlewald’s and further confirmed the man on the tape was him. The third informant said she knew the man on the tape as Shaun Slover.

Three out of four informants also told the FBI that Vehlewald had a drug problem, in particular an addiction to heroin.

The FBI also sent the hat and shorts in for DNA testing. Backlogs at the state’s crime lab means those test are still pending.

They also learned that Vehlewald’s sister lived in the apartment complex where the tracker, shorts and hat were found.

The law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.