Women thwart pair of armed robbers

Three women foiled two armed robberies within minutes of each other Thursday night in Coeur d’Alene when they challenged masked gunmen, according to police.

In the first confrontation, a masked gunman confronted a woman getting out of her car at her home in the 4200 block of North Echo Glenn at 10:10 p.m., grabbing the driver’s door as it opened and snatching a bank bag. The woman said she “screamed and kicked him hard” and he fell, dropped the bag and ran away, according to a news release.

The man was described as in his 20s, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9 and having a medium build. He was wearing black except for a white-and-red mask.

Twelve minutes later and about two miles away, a gunman demanded money from a clerk at the Dollar Tree store at 406 W. Neider Ave. The store manager grabbed the gun and the robber struggled free and fled the store, police said.

The robber was described as white, possibly in his 20s, 5-foot-6 and very thin. He had blue eyes and dark curly hair to his neck. He was wearing dark jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt under a dark blue coat with the hood pulled over his head, a red baseball cap and a brown bandanna covering most of his face.

Anyone with information is asked to call Coeur d’Alene police at (208) 769-2320.